Nationals release pair of veterans from minor league deals

The Nationals released Franmil Reyes and Jacob Nottingham from their minor league deals, as indicated by the transactions page for Triple-A Rochester. 

Reyes signed with the Nats in May and Nottingham joined the organization in early July, with neither player seeing any action at the big league level.

After hitting 92 homers with a .260/.325/.503 slash line over 1540 plate appearances with San Diego and Cleveland from 2018-21, Reyes’ production has sharply cratered over the last two seasons. He struggled so much in the first half of the 2022 season that the Guardians designated him for assignment in early August, and Reyes then went to the Cubs on a waiver claim. 

Chicago opted to outright Reyes off their roster after the season rather than pay a projected $6M arbitration salary, and Reyes then landed in Kansas City on a minor league deal.

Reyes hit only .186/.231/.288 over 65 PA with the Royals, who then DFA’ed him in May, and Reyes opted to again become a free agent. Signing with the Nationals organization didn’t provide any new spark, as Reyes hit .219/.322/.383 over 149 in Rochester, electing to stay with the team despite a pair of earlier opt-out dates.

Despite all his struggles over the last two seasons, it still seems likely that the 28-year-old Reyes will catch on with another team eager to see if his power bat can be revived. The next chance might not come until 2024, however, if clubs prefer to give their younger players more playing time over the last few weeks of the Triple-A season and postseason.

Nottingham’s MLB resume consists of 53 games with the Brewers and Mariners from 2018-21, and the catcher has yet to return to the big leagues. He spent 2022 in the Orioles’ farm system and then returned to the Mariners on another minor league contract during the offseason, before getting traded to the Giants in May and released in late June. 

Nottingham provided Washington with some catching depth at the Triple-A level, but the Nationals will now make room for prospect Brady Lindsly, who was just promoted to Rochester on Friday.