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Nationals sign catcher recently released by SF Giants to minor-league deal

The Washington Nationals signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor-league contract. Nottingham was recently released by the SF Giants.
Marc Delucchi|
Nationals sign catcher recently released by SF Giants to minor-league deal
Nationals sign catcher recently released by SF Giants to minor-league deal

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The Washington Nationals signed catcher Jacob Nottingham to a minor-league contract and assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate in Rochester. The SF Giants recently released Nottingham after acquiring him in a trade with the Mariners in late May. Nottingham has hit .230/.320/.422 with eight doubles and six home runs at Triple-A this season in the Mariners and Giants' organizations.

Nottingham was drafted in the sixth round of the 2013 MLB Draft by the Houston Astros out of Southern California's Redlands High School. Two years later, Nottingham was packaged with another prospect and sent to the Oakland Athletics at the trade deadline for veteran starting pitcher Scott Kazmir. Less than a year after that, Nottingham was traded once again, this time by the A's, who sent him to the Milwaukee Brewers in a deal for power-hitting outfielder Khris Davis.

Nottingham's powerful frame has given him some extra hurdles defensively behind the plate but has always been the source of his above-average power. As a prospect in the minor leagues, Nottingham had a breakout season in 2018, hitting .281/.347/.528 with 10 home runs in 50 games at Triple-A as a 23-year-old. Given that performance, he received his first MLB call up and appeared in nine games with the Brewers.

Nottingham appeared in each of the next four seasons with the Brewers but only found himself in a consistent role as the team's backup catcher during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The Brewers designated Nottingham for assignment early in the 2021 season and was claimed off waivers by the Mariners but was traded back to the Brewers shortly thereafter.

Overall, Nottingham blasted eight homers in 130 MLB plate appearances but was unable to contribute much else offensively. He struck out 50 times and recorded a meager .184/.277/.421 triple-slash. Now with the Nationals, he will hope 

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Marc Delucchi
MARC DELUCCHI

Marc Delucchi (he/they/she) serves as the Managing Editor at Giants Baseball Insider, leading their SF Giants coverage. As a freelance journalist, he has previously covered the San Francisco Giants at Around the Foghorn and McCovey Chronicles. He also currently contributes to Niners Nation, Golden State of Mind, and Baseball Prospectus. He has previously been featured in several other publications, including SFGate, ProFootballRumors, Niners Wire, GrandStand Central, Call to the Pen, and Just Baseball. Over his journalistic career, Marc has conducted investigations into how one prep baseball player lost a college opportunity during the pandemic (Baseball Prospectus) and the rampant mistreatment of players at the University of Hawaii football program under former head coach Todd Graham (SFGate). He has also broken dozens of news stories around professional baseball, primarily around the SF Giants organization, including the draft signing of Kyle Harrison, injuries and promotions to top prospects like Heliot Ramos, and trade details in the Kris Bryant deal. Marc received a Bachelor's degree from Kenyon College with a major in economics and a minor in Spanish. During his time in college, he conducted a summer research project attempting to predict the future minor-league performance of NCAA hitters, worked as a data analyst for the school's Women's basketball team, and worked as a play-by-play announcer/color commentator for the basketball, baseball, softball, and soccer teams. He also worked as an amateur baseball scout with the Collegiate Baseball Scouting Network (later renamed Evolution Metrix), scouting high school and college players for three draft cycles. For tips and inquiries, feel free to reach out to Marc directly on Twitter or via email (delucchimarc@gmail.com).

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