Washington Nationals Designate Two Veterans for Assignment

The Washington Nationals have opted to move on from two veterans to clear space on their roster.

Jun 28, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals outfielder Harold Ramirez (43) looks on from the dugout against the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Nationals waived the white flag ahead of the 2024 MLB trade deadline, turning their attention to 2025 and beyond. It was the right move, as a push for a wild card spot was unlikely with so many other teams heating up in the National League.

Looking to see what some of their younger players have to offer, the Nationals cleared roster spots on Tuesday. Outfielder and first baseman Harold Ramirez and left-handed reliever Jordan Weems were both designated for assignment.

That clears the way for Washington to promote infielder Andres Chaparro, who was acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks in a deadline deal for Dylan Floro, and right-handed pitcher Orlando Ribalta. Ribalta is the Nationals’ No. 28 ranked prospect.

This is the second time in the 2024 season that Ramirez has been designated for assignment. On June 7th, he met the same fate with the Tampa Bay Rays before Washington agreed to a minor league deal with him.

Ramirez’s power outage to start the season with the Rays carried over to the Nationals. He has recorded a slash line of .261/.280/.324 between both teams in 2024 after productive campaigns in 2023 and 2024 with Tampa Bay.

In those two seasons, Ramirez produced a slash line of .306/.348/.432 in 869 plate appearances with 126 RBI. He hit 18 home runs and 43 doubles.

The 31-year-old Weems started his career with the Oakland Athletics and spent some time with the Diamondbacks after that. He has been a regular part of the Nationals’ bullpen since 2022, but positive production has been sporadic.

The lefty struggled in 2022, making 32 appearances and recording an ERA of 5.22 over 39.2 innings. But, he looked to have figure something out the following season.

Weems got the job done in 2023, pitching 54.2 innings and recording an ERA of 3.62. But, his FIP of 4.90 indicated that there was some luck to the low ERA. That would prove to be the case, as he struggled mightily again in 2024.

Opponents were hitting him hard, as Weems recorded a ghastly ERA of 6.70 in 41 appearances and 41.2 innings pitched. The Nationals are much better off seeing what a younger arm in Ribalta can do with some low-stress major league innings down the stretch.