Washington Nationals acquire Ryan Raburn
By Brad Faber
The Washington Nationals have acquired a utility man with 11 years of MLB experience.
On Friday, Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post reported that the Washington Nationals had acquired utility man Ryan Raburn in a deal with the Chicago White Sox.
Nationals have acquired OF Ryan Raburn from the White Sox organization in exchange for a PTBNL or cash, according to person familiar.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) May 26, 2017
Raburn began his career with the Detroit Tigers. Although he could be very streaky and was known for his ups and downs, he was quite productive at times. Between 2009-11, Raburn hit .274/.329/.473 (113 OPS+) while averaging 15 home runs per season. After struggling in 2012, however, the utility man was released by the Tigers the following offseason.
Post-Tigers career
In 2013, Raburn caught on with the Cleveland Indians and had a very nice rebound season, hitting .272/.357/.543 (151 OPS+) with 16 homers and 55 RBI through 87 games. In August of that season, the Indians also awarded him with a two-year extension.
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Although Raburn’s struggles returned in 2014, he bounced back yet again the following year. Through 82 games in 2015, he hit .301/.393/.543 (148 OPS+) with eight homers and 29 RBI.
However, Raburn spent last year with the Colorado Rockies and struggled to keep the hot bat going, hitting just .220/.309/.404 (77 OPS+) with nine homers and 30 RBI. Overall, he has usually been either a hot or cold player, with his fWAR ranging anywhere from -1.4 to to 2.4 over the course of his 11-year MLB career.
Raburn signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds for the 2017 season, but was released before the end of spring training and later signed by the White Sox. Raburn, who has yet to appear in a major league game this season, was hitting a decent .277/.419/.434 with three homers and 13 RBI for Triple-A Charlotte. According to Janes, Raburn will be assigned to the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate.
Raburn will report to Class AAA Syracuse.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) May 26, 2017
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It is also worth noting that Raburn has played a total of seven different positions. While it isn’t a sure thing that he will be able to claw his way back to the majors, he certainly makes sense as an extra depth piece for the Nationals.