Adrianza, 32, signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Nationals in March. Before that, he spent 2021 with the Braves, playing six different positions during their title season. At Washington, he spent most of the year recovering from a quadriceps injury sustained late in spring training. He appeared in 31 games and had a .179 batting average, .255 on-base percentage and .202 percentage in 94 plate appearances. He started recently, mostly for Maikel Franco in third place, perhaps because the last-placed Nationals wanted to field him before Tuesday’s deadline.
To replace Adrianza in the 26- and 40-man rosters, the Nationals will call back infielder Ildemaro Vargas from the Class-AAA Rochester Red Wings, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. Vargas, 31, is a smooth defender, light hitter and bats from both sides of the plate. He has been on four major league teams and had a brief stint with the Chicago Cubs in May. The Braves selected Robinson Canó to make room for Adrianza.
Aside from Juan Soto and with Adrianza returning to Atlanta, Washington still has Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz, Carl Edwards Jr., Steve Cishek and Kyle Finnegan potentially relocating before 6 p.m. East Tuesday. And since Adrianza has been something of a surprise trade chip, remember that it’s difficult to know exactly what competitors need before the stretch run. In that sense, the trade felt similar when the 2021 Nationals sent left-handed starter Jon Lester to the St. Louis Cardinals for outfielder Lane Thomas.
Harris didn’t play above Class-AA, meaning he falls well short of Thomas when he arrived in Washington — and hasn’t made his debut yet, under team control for six seasons once his duty clock starts ticking. In general, however, a deep arm is more valuable than a light hitting utility player. The analogy is that in their last chance to sign players from other clubs, the Braves have a specific role in mind for Adrianza and are likely to see limited benefits in Harris. This made them good trading partners for the Nationals, even with general manager Mike Rizzo’s lax policy of not buying players within the division.
For the past two seasons, Harris was with the Mississippi Braves, Class AA. And since 2019, the right-hander has been trying to rediscover what earned him the Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the best offensive player in the Atlanta system. That year, Harris finished with a .323 batting average, .389 base percentage and .498 batting percentage over three levels, hitting 14 homers and 26 doubles. But a full-time jump to AA has proved difficult, as Harris has had a .238/.338/.323 slash in 220 plate appearances with Mississippi this season.
His average and slugging percentage are a tad lower than last year. His on-base percentage is a few ticks higher. Selected in the 32nd round by Missouri in 2018, Harris has played all three outfield positions with a proportion of his appearances on the right. MLB Pipeline ranked him as the Braves’ 29th best prospect.
As recently noted by Nationals director of player development De Jon Watson, the organization is short on bats and overall talent in AA. A thin, top-heavy system is highlighted by pitchers in Rochester rated AAA and a handful of bats on the lower tier. And while the gap will be closed as Brady House, Jeremy De La Rosa and TJ White, among others, advance in the future, there’s no harm in taking a flyer on a struggling hitter like Harris in the meantime.
The costs were extremely low. So the next step for the Nationals is to see how many deals like this they can find.