MIAMI -- Desperately in need of another healthy catcher, the Nationals optioned outfielder/first baseman Tyler Moore to Class AAA Syracuse following today's game and made plans to get Jhonatan Solano to Miami in time for tomorrow night's game against the Marlins.
Though they played today with only one healthy catcher in Carlos Maldonado, and though they believe Jesus Flores (who strained his right hamstring last night in Atlanta) should be ready to return in a matter of days, the Nationals decided not to take any chances and promote Solano.
"I would hate for him to pull a hamstring or something by me rushing him back in the lineup," manager Davey Johnson said following a 5-3 loss to Miami. "Just had to make that move. I didn't see any other way to safeguard. ... If you pull it a little bit and then you injure it, you're out a long time. We can't afford that."
The 26-year-old Solano will make his big-league debut, and he'll do so on the same field with his younger brother Donovan, called up by the Marlins last week.
Solano was hitting .250 with two RBI in 13 games for Syracuse, but he only recently returned from a back injury. He'll become the fifth catcher on the Nationals' big-league roster already this season after Opening Day starter Wilson Ramos tore his ACL and replacement Sandy Leon sprained his ankle four innings into his major-league debut.
Solano's promotion comes at the expense of Moore, who arrived late last month amid much hype after blasting seven early home runs at Syracuse but rarely got a chance to take his hacks with the Nationals. In 12 total games, Moore went 3-for-19 with seven strikeouts.
A natural first baseman, Moore did not start a game there with Adam LaRoche firmly holding down his everyday job. He wound up seeing most of his time in left field, starting five games against left-handed pitchers.
"That's not the role you want for a young player: a young, talented prospect, sitting there and playing against a left-hander occasionally," Johnson said. "So he's better off going [to Class AAA] and playing. We think highly of him, and he's got a great future here."
Moore, who clubbed 31 homers each of the last two seasons at Class A and Class AA, said he gained valuable experience sitting on the bench and learning how the game is played at this big-league level and didn't complain about his lack of playing time.
"It was real tough, but at the same time, we were winning games," he said. "So it wasn't that tough. Everything's better when you're winning. And you can't really put me in there when all the guys are playing great. It's not like we're losing. I definitely understand the situation. We need another player."
9 comments:
Solano. Look both ways before crossing. Do not walk under ladders. And stretch well before games.
The curse of Larry Broadway strikes Tyler Moore, who has a great chance to be the next Chris Marrero.
Pick up ALR's option and forget these kids.
Classy take on Tyler Moore's part. This is a good organization.
Pick up ALR's option and forget these kids.
Right handed power bats are few and far in between in the Nats minor league system ... short of Anthony Rendon who IS ALSO out for the year?
They'll likely option Marerro moving Moore to mostly left-field in Syracuse and see how they fare. Meanwhile, they'll likely bring back DeRosa to back up LaRoche.
I don't think they pick up ALR's option until they see how he does over an entire season. So far they've paid him for 2 seasons and have a lot less than one to show for it. I would definitely WAIT until at least September and NOT jump the gun.
Classy take on Tyler Moore's part. This is a good organization.
He knows he really needs to play every day and attempt to become competent in the outfield. He knows that takes time.
On the other hand Corey Brown HAS BEEN ready fielding-wise. Its the bat. Looks like that has finally come around, perhaps far better than the A's originally projected. He looked like Harper or Trout in Syracuse. If they had left him there it looked like he was going to really punish IL pitching.
And now the Nats are pretty much completely drained catching-depth wise. Solano was the last of the Mohicans.
The curse of Pudge? :)
Right thing to do for everyone concerned.
Especially Flores. The guy's doing everything we hoped for from Ramos and us completely indispensable to this team's success. It's no coincidence that the pitching staff has continued to shine with JFlo calling the games.
I was very hopeful that Moore would prove himself, and he might in the future. But he didn't look ready for the major leagues, at least not without much more playing time to settle in. Being pushed into a new position wasn't exactly helpful to his confidence. Tyler, go down, heat up and we will see you in the future.
A big welcome to Solano. Didn't realize that he had a brother in the Marlins organization. A "see you later" to Moore. Classy take on the situation, as realdeal noted. Hope to see him back in the bigs down the road.
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