Following Wilson Ramos’s season-ending injury, many began speculating that the Washington Nationals would hit the market for catching insurance. Despite early rumors, the Nationals are not actively shopping for a catcher at this time, according to Amanda Comak of the Washington Times.
Injuries to Ramos and Sandy Leon have left the Nationals with a catching duo of Jesus Flores and Carlos Maldonado.
Flores is currently Washington’s starting backstop, and is the owner of a career line of .252/.303/.388. The 27-year-old hasn’t played in more than 30 games since the 2008 season and has hit at a clip of .242/.279/.323 over his first 62 at-bats this year.
Before getting the call to replace Leon following the rookie’s high ankle sprain, Maldonado’s last major league appearance came in 2010 when he totaled 11 at-bats for the Nationals. Prior to 2010, Maldonado’s last action was with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 2006-07 seasons when he appeared in 21 games.
Though 33 years old, Maldonado has only compiled 57 at-bats at the major league level. Over his 17 seasons in the minors, Maldonado has a career line of .255/.328/.358.
With this duo as basically their only in-house options for the time being, many speculated that the Nationals would look outside of the organization for catchers. For a time Kelly Shoppach of the Boston Red Sox was tied to the Nationals. Boston has three catchers that are viewed as major league-ready, making the veteran Shoppach seem expendable.
But a trade was never completed and it doesn’t sound as if the Nationals are planning on dipping into the market anytime soon. General manager Mike Rizzo said that the team may acquire a veteran backup, but they are not looking to give up anything of value to acquire a catcher at this time.
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