Early Thursday morning, when most baseball executives were trying to recover from the 3-day marathon known as the MLB Draft, the Washington Nationals acquired right-handed reliever David Carpenter from the Yankees for 2B prospect Tony Renda. The Nationals bullpen has been dreadful in recent weeks and with the Yankees designating Carpenter for assignment the other day, the trade was a natural fit for both clubs. In corresponding moves, Washington moved OF Nate McLouth to the 60-day disabled list to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Carpenter and optioned LHP Sammy Solis to Double-A Harrisburg.

The 29-year-old Carpenter has struggled in 2015 since being traded from Atlanta to New York, posting a 4.82 ERA and 11 strikeouts against 7 walks and 3 home runs allowed in 18.2 innings this season. His fastball velocity has remained consistent in 2015, averaging 94.9mph and his groundball percentage is a career high 42.4%, though conversely his walk and home run ratios have spiked and his strikeout numbers have sharply declined. That said the previous two seasons with the Braves, he was an excellent late-innings shutdown reliever, with a 3.54 ERA, 2.94 FIP and 67 strikeouts in 61 innings in 2014 and a 1.78 ERA, 2.83 FIP, and 74 strikeouts in 65.2 innings in 2013.

The Nationals are clearly gambling that this poor start is either attributable to the pressure of pitching in New York and/or noise in the 18 inning sample size and he will bounce back with a fresh start returning to the National League. Carpenter is making $1.275 million in his first year of salary arbitration and is under team control through 2017.

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In exchange for Carpenter, the Nationals were forced to part with 2012 2nd round pick Tony Renda, a 24-year-old second baseman who was hitting .267 with 1 homer, 23 RBI and 13 stolen bases for Class AA Harrisburg this season. Renda was ranked as my #24 prospect in the Nationals system preseason, as I am a big fan of his bat-to-ball skills and think he could have an average to above-average hit tool in the majors. Unfortunately this tool is easily his best skill, as he has little to no power, fringy speed and a fringy arm which force him to a second base only profile. He has a true “gamer” mentality and gets everything out of his skills, but even this “want” cannot overcome his lack of physicality. If everything comes together, Renda could serve a below-average second baseman for a few years in the majors in a placeholder type role. However, most likely Renda settles in and develops into a backup or Quad-A player.

In general I am a major fan of this trade from Washington’s perspective – I think the front office is making a shrewd gamble that Carpenter is healthy and has simply struggled early in the season for whatever reasons. If the team is correct, Washington just acquired a well above-average 7th/8th inning reliever, under contract for 2.5 years, for a true spare part in their organization. And if they are wrong, Carpenter will likely be designated for assignment in two months and Washington lost the opportunity cost of trading Renda for another piece in the future. Historically the Nationals have done well trading for Yankee relievers, as Tyler Clippard and Matt Thornton immediately come to mind, and much like American Pharoah this past weekend, I think Washington goes 3 for 3 in this deal.

NatsGM Grade ->    B+