Washington Nationals Hold Onto Former Top Prospect After He Went Unclaimed

The Washington Nationals are trying to figure out how this roster is going to look moving forward.
With so many talented young players and prospects at the Major League level and in the organization, the front office and coaching staff have to figure out which ones are going to be the franchise cornerstones, who are going to become contributors, and who are expendable.
They apparently answered that for one player.
Per Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, the Nationals held onto Joan Adon following him going unclaimed when they designated him for assignment about a week ago.
He'll remain with the team and was sent outright to Washington's Triple-A affiliate.
Adon was signed as an international free agent in 2016, and during 2019, he cracked their top 30 prospects list when he came in at No. 22 per MLB Pipeline. The right-hander peaked at eighth overall in 2022.
An argument could be made the Nationals rushed him to the Majors too quickly.
Adon was called up for his debut in 2021 despite just one Triple-A start and three Double-A starts before the promotion. He made the Opening Day roster in 2022, but it was clear he wasn't ready and began to ride the roller coaster of call ups and send downs during the summer.
There's some real question marks about the viability of the 26-year-old going forward.
He has a career 6.66 ERA across his 35 outings and 26 starts, posting an ERA+ that's 38 percentage points below the league average while not being able to strike batters out at an elite level with just 118 K's in 132.1 innings pitched with 70 walks.
Perhaps more time in the minors, which is where he'll seemingly start this season, could help him reach his ceiling, but at his age, time is running out unless he's able to flip the switch soon.