Nationals Shuffle Roster Again After Acquiring Former Top 100 Prospect Curtis Mead
In this story:
On Saturday night, the Washington Nationals made another trade to acquire an infielder.
Per an announcement from the team, they shipped catcher Boston Smith to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for utility man and former top 100 prospect Curtis Mead. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Nationals designated left-handed pitcher Jake Eder for assignment.
The lack of infield depth seems like something Washington wanted to address during the early stages of this season. They surprised many around the baseball world when they acquired Jorbit Vivas from the New York Yankees before later sending cash to the Yankees for Zack Short. Mead now gives the Nationals another option with major league experience they can turn to as needed.
Who Is Curtis Mead?
The 25-year-old is a native of Australia. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies as an international free agent in 2018. He was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays a year later and started making a name for himself as a prospect, peaking at No. 2 in their pipeline and No. 33 overall during the 2023 season.
Mead hasn't quite lived up to that hype, though. He owns a career slash line of .238/.300/.317 across 152 big league games with an OPS+ that's 25 points below the league average of 100. Where he's been valuable is on the defensive end as a utility man. Playing mainly first, second and third base, he's logged over 990 innings at those positions with just below average numbers in defensive runs saved and outs above average.
How Mead fits into the puzzle is yet to be determined. But at the very least, Washington bolstered their infield depth with a former top 100 prospect who has over 150 MLB games of experience and can be slotted into multiple spots across the dirt.
Nationals Risk Losing Jake Eder
The Nationals acquired Eder and Sam Brown from the Los Angeles Angels ahead of the trade deadline this past year in the deal that saw them ship Andrew Chafin and Luis Garcia out west. Eder had a tough showing within Washington's pipeline after the trade, but he was solid during spring training this year with just two earned runs allowed across 6 2/3 innings pitched in three outings.
Manager Blake Butera had some good things to say about the lefty, but they optioned him to Triple-A. Now, they have opened themselves up to losing him after he was DFA'd to make room for Mead. Whether other teams are interested enough in Eder to place a waiver claim will be seen. But if he goes unclaimed and the Nationals are able to outright him back to Rochester, that will be a positive.
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