The rookie reliever will have his contract purchased from Class AAA Syracuse and is expected to join the big-league club tomorrow in St. Louis, according to a source within the organization.Storen has dominated at four different levels of the minor leagues since the Nationals made him the 10th overall pick in last summer's draft and has posted a 1.23 ERA in six appearances at Syracuse over the last two weeks. In 40 total minor-league games over the last 12 months, he's 2-1 with a 1.70 ERA, 15 saves and a 64-to-11 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
The 22-year-old right-hander should provide an immediate boost to a Nationals bullpen that has gotten yeoman's work since Opening Day from closer Matt Capps (0.93 ERA, 14-for-14 in save opportunities) and setup man Tyler Clippard (7-1, 1.80 ERA) but has struggled to identify another quality arm for setup duties.
Storen's promotion will come about two weeks before fellow first-round pick Stephen Strasburg's expected big-league debut, in part because club officials wanted to reward the reliever for signing immediately after the draft. Strasburg didn't sign his record $15.1 million contract until two minutes before the August 18 deadline.
The Nationals will need to remove someone from the roster to make room for Storen. Right-hander Brian Bruney, who owns a 7.64 ERA and has put 41 men on bases in 17 2/3 innings, is a strong candidate to be designated for assignment.
19 comments:
This is a big move. It's going to
make a huge difference and noticably improve the team before Strasburg's promotion.
Yep. It's as big as John the Baptist.
Storen is John the Baptist
I wonder if that says M. Rizzo and team think they have a chance at something this year ... or the reverse?
I don't know if I'm happier about Storen coming up or Bruney leaving...
Woo Hoo!!!!
Mark,
It's still two weeks to Memorial Day. Did the Nats leave him down in the minors long enough to control him thru 2016?
I think this means that we got the extra year of control of Storen, but he may just qualify for Super Two, which only means he would have an extra arbitration year but that we'd have him through 2016.
BTW, Rizzo has denied this was happening directly to Debbi Taylor at the game. Not sure what that means. But I trust Mike Rizzo more than I trust any tweet by Bill "I love attention" Ladson.
Glad to see this move, gets him a little deserved attention before the arrival of the savior. JTinSC
Yes....this was always about trying to save money.....Good for Lerner for giving the OK....just too late to help win 4 or so games that they would have won if Storen was called up May 1st.
If it is actually happening ... even the great Mark Z. can be wrong.
Can Jesus be far behind John the Baptist?
Rizzo has been less than honest before...He does a great job compared to Jimbo but this is one aspect of his personality that I think he needs to address. Recall he is "happy with RF production in April and May" and he made the call not to bid any higher on Cuban Pitcher not Lerner.....right......
Congrats to Drew! Looking forward to seeing him in DC.
btw, I was watching as well, Anon, and my impression was that Rizzo did not confirm rather than that he denied. There's a difference.
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BTW, Rizzo has denied this was happening directly to Debbi Taylor at the game. Not sure what that means. But I trust Mike Rizzo more than I trust any tweet by Bill "I love attention" Ladson.
I'd even go as far to say as he non-confirm confirmed, if that makes sense. He said something like, "nothing's official until we announce it, so right now anything you hear is just conjecture".
I don't care who you are, as a GM, you're not gonna confirm during a game to a "reporter" like DT, about a roster move as big as this, especially since it's likely tied to Bruney getting DFA'd.
You want to wait until a few hours after the game to announce yourself so the press people have time to put together a press release.
TLDR: He said he wouldn't confirm it, which sounds to me like he's confirming it.
Exactly. Mike Rizzo said exactly what a good GM should say in the course of a game. There are proper channels by which the annoncement of roster moves are made and the middle of a game to a reporter is not one of them.
JayB can rewrite the past! Wow, so Storen here on May 1st would have been +4 wins!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JayB, tell us how many wins Strasburg will add!
That does make sense, Grandstander. Well said.
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I'd even go as far to say as he non-confirm confirmed, if that makes sense. He said something like, "nothing's official until we announce it, so right now anything you hear is just conjecture".
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