Nationals Option Brady House to Triple-A in Surprising Roster Move
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The Washington Nationals have not been shy when it comes to making roster decisions they feel are best for the team and the development of their players.
That was made clear in spring training when the likes of Mitchell Parker, Harry Ford, Andrew Alvarez and others were reassigned to Triple-A. But this new regime made it clear that things are going to operate differently when they optioned Dylan Crews to Rochester to start the year.
Now, they have made another surprising decision. In announcement from the team, the Nationals revealed that third baseman Brady House had been optioned to Triple-A Rochester following the game on Monday.
Struggles of Brady House Cause Nationals to Give Him a Reset
On the surface, the numbers don't look too bad for the 22-year-old. Through 44 games, he's slashed .227/.282/.399 with seven home runs, seven doubles and 25 RBIs. His OPS+ is also 94 and his wRC+ is 90. While those two figures are below the league average mark of 100, it's not a noticeable gap that many young players have during the early stages of their major league careers.
However, where House has run into trouble are in the advanced metrics. He's in the 28th percentile for chase rate (33.5%), the 17th percentile for strikeout rate (28.2%) and the 11th percentile for whiff rate (33.0%). When combining that with his defense that has declined -- minus-four in defensive runs saved and outs above average this season compared to zero and plus-two in those metrics last year, respectively -- then it's not hard to see why this new analytically-driven front office and coaching staff had him circled for someone who needs more work down on the farm.
In fact, some fans out there might not have been surprised by this roster decision since House was no longer an everyday player at third base. His playing time had been cut quite a bit recently, so sending him down to Triple-A will now allow him to play every game so he can improve on the things he needs to work on.
Nationals Make Another Clear Statement About Their Developmental Process
One thing that continues to be made clear by this new regime is that they are different compared to the previous one. Under the last front office, if a prospect had graduated after being called up to the majors, they were rarely sent back down even if they were struggling.
As has been shown on multiple occasions now, that is not how this organization is going to operate going forward. And with House getting sent to Triple-A, that is the latest statement by Paul Toboni and his staff that they are fully invested in the long-term development of their players to they can maximize the talents of each and every player in the organization.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai