Robles might be useful, but why allow Nunez to take a spot?

Lot of Nunez discussion. Recall when the roster was capped at 25 men, many AL teams in the DH league kept 8 man bullpens and a slim bench with only 3 players, one of whom was the back up catcher. In effect, the Nats are playing that way, treating the 4th bench slot as a luxury that can be held down by a guy who has some skills but is almost never used. Whether that optimizes the slot, you can argue.

Nunez has MLB plus skills defensively already, as well as super speed. Those skills could be used as a weapon more, but with Garcia playing what visually feels like average defense, and with CJ being the team star, you just aren't seeing the defensive substitution opportunities you thought you'd see at the start of the year. In the first 2 weeks of the season, Nunez made 4 of his 5 defensive appearances, being inserted as a pinch runner twice. Since then, he's been in the field once, and pinch run twice. With Vargas as the primary utility guy, Nunez is now solely a pinch runner, maybe mostly used in extra innings as a Manfred Man. FWIW, Drew Millas is pretty fast, not just fast for a catcher, so could function as a Manfred Man. With Robles now on the roster, the need for a dedicated PR is less.

I'm not going to say that Nunez is a non-prospect. He has MLB useful skills. Keeping him on the bench probably hurts his development. It's probably time for Rizzo to figure out whether it's better to keep him by chilling him on the  bench in the majors and going with in effect a 25 man roster or, if he really likes the kid but wants to use the roster slot, making the Marlins some sort of offer for him. I don't think he'll be grabbed if he's waived (as a step before dealing with the Marlins for his rights), but frankly, the longer we delay the process, the more likely a good contender might say, "let's grab him for the stretch as a defensive replacement and pinch runner." Just think of all the contenders that rostered Quinton Berry for stretch drives.

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Useless roster spot

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I'd be fine with Nunez in Rochester

He should be gone. The Nats are above .500 at the moment with a wasted roster spot. Bench glove? Vargas. Pinch runner? Robles. Versatile infielder? Lipsomb. Darren Baker and Jake Alu down in Rochester could do the same.

It is real silly to have him on this roster. Promote Millas and let Adams or Ruiz get more ABs when not catching.

I really do love the idea of offering to pick up all but a pro-rated MLB minimum on Gallo's contract for the rights to Nunez and assigning him to Rochester. The Marlins and the Nats have kind of swapped positions, with the Nats the marginal contenders for a WC and the Marlins looking to flip assets to strengthen themselves down the line. Gallo fits there better as they can afford to give him time and a chance to build a little value before the trade deadline. For the Nats, the idea of opening 2 position roster slots on the active and 2 more on the 40 man roster would allow them to redeploy in-house talent, such as Blankenhorn as the lefty 1B/DH, Millas to let a catcher DH, give Yepez a try as the righty bat instead of Meneses,  etc... Could even allow them to call up another outfielder for depth, or more of a specialist you may be willing to play more, like Baker.

Thinking ahead, I think the hand gets forced when Gallo is recalled. Maybe they just send down Lipscomb at that time (agree with Slate they wouldn't need both Nunez and Lipscomb at that point), or maybe they drop Meneses, but DFA'ng Nunez, play Gallo for a week, then do the Welch deal would be the better play.

Why would the Marlins want Gallo?

Strictly to flip him at the deadline. Same reasons the Nats wanted him. They have a chance to play him, so if they think he could be moved at the deadline, and they were only playing MLB minimum the rest of the season, why not roll the dice and see if he's an asset? They may prefer Nunez back, but they may want to see if they can turn Gallo into something better.

It is real silly to have him on this roster.

Agree.  Complete waste of a roster spot.  I don't have a problem with being sellers at the deadline, but holding roster spots for a minor leaguer is absurd.

In as a pinch runner in a critical moment, this is what we've been saving him for!   

Meneses seems to be done. He had a stretch recently where he had a few hits, but IIRC he had an awful spring and cumulatively, has been a wasted lineup spot. Gallo should most definitely replace him.

Nunez should go. Bring up Millas to allow Ruiz or Adams to DH on the days that they aren't catching. It's time to see if Millas can succeed at the major league level.

There is no reason to keep him, at this point. I would have considered it if Garcia had struggled, but at this point, Nunez is taking up space. I would rather see Alu or Kieboom at this point.

The Nats have a 4-man bench. One is whichever catcher has not started. Another is Nunez, meaning the Nats play every game with a bench of two. With Robles gone, this better than having one -- like Vargas. 

How long before the Nats dump Nunez, who adds nothing? Replace Nunuez with Baker, who runs, hits, and fields 2B, LF, and has played CF. Could probably play RF, assuming that smart throws count.

Or replace Nunez with Millas, who has done well in Rochester. Think of it: if Nunez went into the Nats minor league system, where would they put him? Looks like he would battle Armando Cruz in Fredericksburg. (Where would Miami put him?)

I'm sure sure that Nunez has a role. Charlie Finley tried hired a sprint champion as a pinch-runner, but the guy contributed so little that Finley began using a fast minor-leaguer in later seasons. Until MLB starts using Designated Runners, Nunez is a waste.

I'll stick my neck out and say that he's going to be in the majors in September even if the not with the Nats. He's just a deadly runner and his D is very good. He is not a well rounded player, but he's more or less a specialist. You say "until MLB starts using Designated Runners," but they've done it for ages. Dave Roberts was a legit ballplayer, but his most famous role was strictly as a pinch runner. The names Quintin Berry and Terrence Gore have come up. They always managed to find a spot on 25 man rosters down the stretch as specialists. With a 26 man, it's a lot easier.

In as a pinch runner in a critical moment, this is what we've been saving him for!

The argument for him is that he not only steals, he walks a ton.  He had among MiLB's steals leader over the last couple years, and has a .358 career MiLB on base.  The problem is that most of this was at A-levels, last year as a 22/23 year old, he had a reasonable, but not super impressive .341 On base.  Moreover, with zero power, his OPS was still under .700...at AA.  Contrast that to Jacob Young, who's only one year older, but put up an OPS over .800 last year at AA, steals at the same pace, and is way ahead in his ability to major league pitching.  Nunez turns 24 this year, so not much time to develop left, but he's certainly not being served hanging out on the bench so he can be a 25 year old minor leaguer next year.

Darren Baker steals at close to the same rate and has a better OBP in AAA than Nunez had last year in AA.  Baker has a far better chance of being able to hit MLB pitching, even if he's not an all-star or everyday replacement for Luis Garcia, and is far more deserving of that roster spot.   He can be the pinch runner the team wants as well.