“There’s a chance”, manager Dusty Baker said earlier this afternoon, perhaps underestimating how hard it typically is to make that 30-mile drive into town during rush hour.
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So will Rzepczynski be in D.C.in time for tonight’s series finale with the Orioles?
The Washington Nationals have acquired left-handed reliever Marc Rzepczynski from the Oakland Athletics for minor league infielder Max Schrock. He has held left-handed hitters to a.225 batting average over his eight-year career, but he is faring better against right-handed hitters this season. After trading lefty Felipe Rivero to Pittsburgh for closer Mark Melancon, the Nationals needed a left-hander to bolster the pen.
“I haven’t talked to our medical people about Sammy, because we have quite a few guys on that medical list”, Baker said, “but I talked to Sammy and Sammy says that he feels pretty good, not great, but he’s feeling pretty good”.
Rzepczynski, 30, began the season as the A’s lefty-on-lefty reliever out of the bullpen and had pitched in 56 of the A’s 127 games with a 1-0 record and 3.00 ERA. He was playing for the Potomac Nationals, a high-A ball team.
“It’s always a plus when you can induce ground balls, because then you have a chance to turn double plays, you have a chance to get out of trouble”, Baker explained. It’s a welcome sight and a welcome addition. If the Nats envision calling on Rzepzcynski to get formidable lefties out during the postseason, they will hope that trend normalizes a bit. The Nationals seem to think that more training in the minors is in order for Lopez. The move leaves Washington with four starters and without a starter for Sunday, when Lopez was slated to start against the Rockies. Now the club will need to promote another starter – most likely Lucas Giolito – for that game, which means they’ll need to drop another player at that point.
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Marc Rzepczynski is headed to the Nationals.
