Nationals Make Another Trade With Yankees to Acquire Veteran Utility Man
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The Washington Nationals have made another trade with the New York Yankees as they get ready for Opening Day on March 26.
After first acquiring Jorbit Vivas on March 22 that caused the Nationals to designated right-handed pitcher Griff McGarry for assignment and ultimately return him to the Philadelphia Phillies, Washington has acquired another infielder from the Big Apple by bringing in veteran utility man Zack Short in exchange for cash considerations, per an announcement from the team. Short will report to Triple-A Rochester, so no additional roster moves will need to be made.
The 30-year-old signed a minor league deal with the Yankees on Dec. 12. He was a non-roster invitee to their spring training camp, and despite hitting .278/.480/.333 in 25 plate appearances, he was shipped out of town.
Nationals Add Big League Depth to Minors With Zack Short
While the Vivas trade seems to have Opening Day roster implications, the addition of Short appears like it's strictly for depth. Because the Nationals lack experienced infield options in their minor league ranks, acquiring someone with 243 MLB games under their belt solves that issue.
Short, who was a 17th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 draft, first made his major league debut with the Detroit Tigers in 2021. The utility man hasn't provided much on offense during his time in The Show with a career slash line of .172/.271/.296 and an OPS+ that's 42 points below the league average of 100. But he's provided an OK glove at second and third base.
It's unlikely Short is going to see the field for Washington this year barring injuries or poor performances from expected impact players. However, depending on how long he remains with the organization, he's a good backup piece to have in Rochester in case the Nationals have major setbacks along their infield.
Building Organizational Depth Continues to Be Goal for New Regime
Following the acquisition of Short, the Triple-A roster now has seven infielders. When comparing that to the eight outfielders, three catchers and 29 pitchers they are carrying, it's clear there was some augmentation that needed to be done to that unit.
Again, Short is not going to turn into an elite player at this stage of his career. But one of the clear goals of this new regime was to create depth across the entire organization, so adding the veteran for what was cash considerations is something they felt was the smart thing to do.
How the utility man impacts things isn't clear at this time. But having him in the mix is much better than not when looking at how thin the infield unit was down on the farm.
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