Purke on list of minor league free agents; De Los Santos update from Arizona

Purke on list of minor league free agents; De Los Santos update from Arizona
The list of minor league free agents from 2015 has been revealed by Baseball America, and the most notable names on the Nationals list include former 2011 third-round selection left-hander Matt Purke, as well as southpaw Richard Bleier. Purke was drafted with a lot of promise, but has been saddled with various injuries during his career. He returned to reach Double-A Harrisburg this year and finished the season allowing three runs in his final six appearances out of the bullpen. Bleier had a...

Gonzalez sick of watching the Nats lose to Pirates, notches win

Gonzalez sick of watching the Nats lose to Pirates, notches win
Left-hander Gio Gonzalez turned in a gutsy performance Saturday night in the Nationals' 9-3 win over the Pirates. Despite feeling under the weather, Gonzalez finished five innings and allowed only one earned run to get the win (8-4). "I thought Gio pitched well and gave us what he could," said manager Matt Williams to reporters. "He wasn't feeling great today, either. He was a little sick, so he may (have) run out of gas a little bit." Gonzalez showed true grit for a Nationals team that...

Purke makes first start in more than a year, plus notes on Werth injury

Purke makes first start in more than a year, plus notes on Werth injury
Left-hander Matt Purke made his first start of 2015 with low Single-A Hagerstown, falling to Kannapolis 4-0. Purke allowed two runs over four innings, had no walks and struck out three. It has been exactly one year since the 2011 third-round selection had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery. Purke is on an innings limit for each game, and even though he gave up the two runs in the third, it is always a major step to make that initial start of the next season following Tommy John surgery. He...

Matt Purke begins his throwing program

Matt Purke begins his throwing program
Left-hander Matt Purke has started his throwing program as he rehabilitates from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old says the program commenced Tuesday and started with soft tosses. "I felt really good and (am) excited to be back out on the field," the southpaw reported via text message. Purke said he will gradually build up his throwing over time. He still has plenty of time before spring training begins. Purke was signed to a minor league contract on Nov. 18, five days after being taken off...

Nats re-sign Purke to minor league deal (updated with quotes)

Nats re-sign Purke to minor league deal (updated with quotes)
Three days after releasing Matt Purke, the Nationals announced that they have re-signed the left-hander to a minor league deal and invited him to major league spring training. Releasing Purke allowed the Nats to remove him from their 40-man roster. This is good news that the Nationals can still have Purke in the organization as he completes his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery. The 24-year-old Purke was limited to eight starts in 2014, going 1-6 with an 8.04 ERA. His career has been...

Baseball Prospectus No. 10 Nats prospect: Wilmer Difo

Baseball Prospectus No. 10 Nats prospect: Wilmer Difo
The Nationals prospect list took a mild hit this week with the announcement that left-hander Matt Purke has been released by the team. Purke had been a part of the organization's top 10 in prospects since his arrival from the 2011 draft, but shoulder and elbow injuries derailed his opportunity to excel with the Nationals. But the Nationals' top 10 prospects are still chocked full of potential, especially with the addition of a few new names that had just arrived from last year's draft. So we...

Nationals release Matt Purke

Nationals release Matt Purke
The Nationals have released touted left-hander Matt Purke, according to the team's transactions page. Purke, the Nationals' No. 10 prospect, had recently been activated from the 60-day disabled list. The current 40-man roster lists 39 players. Purke was a third-round selection out of Texas Christian University in the 2011 draft and had signed a major league deal worth close to $4.2 million. He did not pitch much at the pro level in 2014, going 1-6 with an 8.04 ERA in eight starts for Double-A...

Solis placed on the disabled list with elbow discomfort

Solis placed on the disabled list with elbow discomfort
Double-A Harrisburg Senators left-hander Sammy Solis is back on the disabled list, this time with elbow discomfort, a club source confirmed to MASNSports.com. Solis missed the beginning of the season due to a back issue. He made one start for the Senators, but lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up nine runs, eight of them earned. He was scheduled to pitch late last week, but was scratched. On Tuesday, the Senators announced Solis was placed on the disabled list. Solis recovered from Tommy John...

Notes on Treinen, Jordan, LaRoche's rehab and more

Notes on Treinen, Jordan, LaRoche's rehab and more
With Gio Gonzalez on the disabled list, rookie right-hander Blake Treinen gets a chance to show his strong showings over two prior stints with the Nationals this season were no fluke. Treinen, 25, has pitched to a 0.77 ERA over 11 2/3 innings spanning four appearances (one start). In his first major league start on May 6, Treinen allowed no earned runs (three total) on seven hits while striking out two and walking none in five innings. Tonight, he'll look to perhaps top that in Pittsburgh....

Nats source: Purke on disabled list with elbow injury

Nats source: Purke on disabled list with elbow injury
Double-A Harrisburg starting left-hander Matt Purke has been placed on the disabled list with an elbow injury, according to a club source. The Nationals are "still gathering information" regarding the injury and do not know yet what the next step will be. Purke was listed as the No. 10 Nationals prospect according to Baseball America. Elbow injuries in pitchers usually are rarely easy fixes. Recently, fellow left-hander Danny Rosenbaum under went Tommy John surgery. Purke's career has...

Nats source: Purke to stay in rotation despite slow start

Nats source: Purke to stay in rotation despite slow start
Double-A Harrisburg left-hander Matt Purke has had a tough start to the season, but the Nationals have no immediate intention of removing him from the starting rotation, a team source told MASNSports.com. They also confirm Purke's shoulder is fine. Purke was a third-round 2011 selection for the Nationals who missed most of the 2012 season because of a shoulder injury. He had left shoulder surgery in August of that season and pitched in 18 games in 2013 between high Single-A Potomac and the...

Patrick Reddington: Casting a watchful eye to the farm

Patrick Reddington: Casting a watchful eye to the farm
Four of Washington's minor league affiliates started their respective 2014 campaigns Thursday night. There are interesting prospects to follow throughout the Nationals organization, so we decided to take a look at five players we'll be following closely this season on MiLB.tv or on trips to minor league parks. Matt Purke: Taken 14th overall by the Texas Rangers in 2009, Purke didn't sign, choosing instead to attend Texas Christian University where the left-hander put together an impressive...

Updates on Hague, Komatsu, Bowe, Meyers, Purke and Dominican players

Updates on Hague, Komatsu, Bowe, Meyers, Purke and Dominican players
I was able to check in with assistant general manager/vice president of player development Doug Harris on several Nationals' prospects. I will begin with position players. * Infielder Ricky Hague returned last season after missing most of 2012 with a shoulder injury. He played in 128 games last season and compiled 437 at-bats. "He is going to play a little more third base this year," Harris said. "We will see where that takes us. Looking forward to him bouncing back this season as...

Nats cut six, including Taylor, Purke, Hensley

Nats cut six, including Taylor, Purke, Hensley
VIERA, Fla. - With yesterday's split-squad games in the books, the Nationals made six cuts today, optioning outfielder Michael Taylor and left-hander Matt Purke to Double-A Harrisburg and reassigning right-handers Clay Hensley, Josh Roenicke and Daniel Stange and left-hander Danny Rosenbaum to minor league camp. Taylor, considered the top defensive outfielder in the Nats' organization, went 3-for-16 (.188) with a triple and three RBIs in 13 games played this spring. This will be the...

Harper arrives, Purke returning to form after injury

Harper arrives, Purke returning to form after injury
VIERA, Fla. - Bryce Harper and Jeff Kobernus walked into the home clubhouse at Space Coast Stadium a little before 9 a.m., which leaves Jayson Werth as the only member of the Nationals' 40-man roster who I have yet to spot at camp. Harper dished out hugs to teammates and then started unpacking his things as he grabbed a seat in front of his locker. We'll see whether he decides to hang around today and get in some BP on the main field sometime around noon. I mentioned that left-hander Sammy...

A look in on prospects Solis, Purke and Goodwin

A look in on prospects Solis, Purke and Goodwin
A pair of the top pitching prospects in the Nationals organization are hoping to make a nice jump this season. Left-handers Sammy Solis and Matt Purke have had a similar track recently as they return from injury to pitch well. Solis returned to pitch early in the season for High Single-A Potomac. He pitched in some crucial elimination games for the P-Nats and for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League with success. "Both pitchers are very important to the organization," said...

More on Taylor, Purke and Solis from Baseball Prospectus

More on Taylor, Purke and Solis from Baseball Prospectus
Jason Parks, the national prospect/player development writer for Baseball Prospectus, also had information on some other Nationals prospects who could possibly be close to the top 101 prospects in baseball. He had good things to say about center fielder Michael Taylor who is likely going to start for Double-A Harrisburg this April. "I have always been kind of a fan of Taylor's, just because of the tool profile," Parks said. "Michael Taylor was certainly a guy that (we) batted around a...

Assessing the state of the Nationals' minor league system

Assessing the state of the Nationals' minor league system
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. - Well, the Winter Meetings are finally almost complete. I wish I could say they've flown by, but that hasn't exactly been the case. These things are a grind. Pretty much all that's left on the schedule here at the Swan and Dolphin Resort is this morning's Rule 5 Draft, in which teams can sift through unprotected minor leaguers in other organizations and try and supplement their own 40-man rosters. There are more specific rules on this process that I'll explain...

No. 10 Nats prospect: Matt Purke

No. 10 Nats prospect: Matt Purke
The Nationals traded their fifth-ranked prospect, pitcher Robbie Ray, to the Detroit Tigers last week. But it is still a pretty good list of prospects, and the organization did not have to give up their best to make the deal for Doug Fister. Here is a look at the Nationals' top 10 prospects according to Baseball America following the trade of Ray. Over the next few weeks, we will count down to No. 1 with the help of Baseball America national writer Aaron Fitt. No. 10, LHP Matt...

With Ray gone, Solis and Purke are Nats' top lefty prospects

With Ray gone, Solis and Purke are Nats' top lefty prospects
The Nationals felt so confident in the left-handed pitching they have available in their organization that they were will to part with Robbie Ray. Ray came on strong in 2013 and got a lot of attention from opposing scouts. With Double-A Harrisburg, he became a part of a very a tremendous starting five. Ray was 5-2 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts at Harrisburg. He had 60 strikeouts and 21 walks. For the season, combined with his high Single-A Potomac numbers, Ray went 11-5 with a 3.36 ERA and 160...