Washington Nationals add to bullpen again with Marc Rzepczynski

The Washington Nationals added left-hander Mark Rzepczynski to their bullpen in a trade that sent infield prospect Max Schrock to the Oakland A’s.

The Washington Nationals made their bullpen a priority at the trade deadline, and they have continued that approach in the month of August. Earlier today the Nats agreed to acquire veteran reliever Marc Rzepczynski and cash considerations from the Oakland Athletics in return for minor leaguer Max Schrock:

Currently occupying first place in the NL East and aiming for a deep postseason run to erase memories of last year’s disappointing finish, Washington added Mark Melancon from the Pirates last month to take over its closer role. His arrival soon spelled the end of an increasingly unreliable Jonathan Papelbon.

Melancon has been great for the Nationals since coming on board, allowing only one run on six hits and zero walks in 9.1 innings while converting all six of his save opportunities thus far. While that’s a big improvement over what they were getting from Papelbon, general manager Mike Rizzo evidently felt that the bullpen could use even more reinforcements, and a lefty like Rzepczynski fit the bill of what he was looking for.

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The soon-to-be 31-year-old (whose last name strikes fear into the hearts of writers everywhere and has earned him the apt moniker “Scrabble”) has turned in a solid showing for the A’s this season, although his numbers don’t exactly tell the complete story. He has posted a 3.00 ERA and 9.3 K/9 rate in 36 innings while only allowing one home run over that span. He’s walked 24 batters (6.0 BB/9), but six of those have been of the intentional variety. He puts a lot of runners on base (1.72 WHIP), yet has done a good job of stranding them there (79.9 percent left-on-base rate).

Traditionally more of a match-up lefty, Rzepczynski has held left-handed hitters to a .225/.295/.302 slash line in his eight-year major league career. This season has been an inversion of his usual tendencies, however. Righties are batting .226/.400/.274 against him while lefties have managed a .296/.360/.395 line. If the Nats envision calling on Rzepzcynski to get formidable lefties out during the postseason, they will hope that trend normalizes a bit. But if he’s effective in general, they likely won’t complain.

The 21-year-old Schrock was a 13th-round selection by Washington in the 2015 draft. A second baseman, he has been praised by MLB Pipeline for his pure hitting ability and surprising power in spite of his 5’8″ frame. In 121 games this season between Class A Hagerstown and High-A Potomac, he’s hitting .333/.378/.456 with nine homers, 68 RBI and 22 steals. Billy Beane will see if he can develop into an asset for the organization over the next couple years.

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Rzepczynski will be a free agent at the end of the season, so the Nationals aren’t on the hook for any long-term commitment. Of course, the same can be said for Melancon, so it’s very much in the Nats’ best interest to make these bullpen additions count this coming October.