TUESDAY, AUGUST 6 , 2019. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D3
If Sanchez is optioned, the
reserves would be Cabrera,
Parra, Stevenson and whoever
isn’t catching between Yan
Gomes and Kurt Suzuki. And
Martinez will no longer be
operating with an entirely
makeshift bench.Sipp’s short stint ends
Reliever Tony Sipp pitched in
36 games for the Nationals this
season, compiled a 4.71 ERA and
at times looked like the left-
handed specialist they signed
him to be. But the 36-year-old’s
short run with the organization
came to a quiet end.
Sipp was designated for
assignment by the Nationals last
week as the team made room for
three new relievers acquired at
the trade deadline. He was then
placed on outright waivers for
three days, was not claimed by a
team and was offered a minor
league assignment by
Washington. He rejected that
offer, according to a person with
knowledge of the situation, and
will go on release waivers. If he
clears those, too, Sipp will be a
free agent this week.
The Nationals designated
Sipp, Javy Guerra and Michael
Blazek for assignment to clear
space on their 25- and 40-man
rosters. (Justin Miller was also
designated July 29.) But Sipp
was the only one to opt for free
agency instead of staying in the
system. He signed a one-year
deal worth a guaranteed
$1.25 million in mid-March. He
struggled at the start of the
season, as most of the Nationals’
relievers did, and went on the
injured list with a strained
oblique in early May.
His best stretch came in late
June and July, when he went
eight appearances and 4^2 / 3
innings without allowing a run.
But back-to-back shaky outings
ahead of the trade deadline
sealed his fate. Washington
traded for lefty Roenis Elías and
didn’t need four southpaws —
along with Sean Doolittle and
Matt Grace — in an eight-man
bullpen. Guerra is already back
on the Nationals’ roster, having
accepted an assignment with
Class AAA Fresno, then getting
added back to the 25-man roster
Sunday when Elías went on the
IL with a right hamstring strain.
That showed the benefit of
staying with the Nationals
instead of testing the late-
season free agent market. But
with no more August trades and
contenders always needing
bullpen help, Sipp could still
find a home elsewhere.
— Jesse DoughertyExcerpted from
washingtonpost.com/nationals
Cabrera signs deal,
boosting infield depth
The Washington Nationals
signed Asdrúbal Cabrera to a
major league deal, according to
a person with knowledge of the
situation, strengthening their
bench and infield depth ahead
of the pennant race.
Cabrera, 33, appeared in 93
games with the Texas Rangers
this season before he was
designated for assignment
Wednesday. He then cleared
outright waivers and became a
free agent, giving every team a
chance to pick him up. The
Nationals took that chance, just
five days after the trade
deadline, and it’s a logical move,
given the players on the 10-day
injured list. Ryan Zimmerman is
out with plantar fasciitis in his
right foot for the second time
this season, and Howie
Kendrick is again sidelined by a
left hamstring strain.
Manager Dave Martinez did
not want to discuss Cabrera
ahead of Monday night’s game
at the San Francisco Giants,
saying he will wait until the
veteran is on the roster. Cabrera
is expected to join the Nationals
in San Francisco on Tuesday.
But Martinez did talk about his
thin bench.
“It’s tough,” Martinez said.
“Even pinch-hitting fairly early,
when you don’t have those guys,
it’s tough. I know [Andrew]
Stevenson has done a nice job,
[Adrián] Sanchez has actually
swung the bat a lot better, so we
still have the guys. But when we
have those other guys that are
playing now consistently,
[Gerardo] Parra, Matt Adams
playing first base now almost
every day, you don’t have those
guys that we say, ‘Okay, here we
go.’ ”
Those “Okay, here we go”
guys are pinch hitters who can
make a difference offensively.
Stevenson and Sanchez are
stopgaps who don’t fit the
profile. Cabrera could.
He hit .235 with 12 home runs
and 51 RBI for the Rangers this
season. He played 49 games for
the Nationals in 2014, arriving
in a midseason trade with the
Cleveland Indians, and has
since bounced from Tampa Bay
to the New York Mets to
Philadelphia last season to
Texas and now Washington. He
can’t seem to stay away from the
National League East. He
started 90 games at third base
this year and did not play any
other defensive position. He has
also played second, first and a
bit of shortstop in recent
seasons.
To make room for him, the
Nationals will need to clear
space on their 25- and 40-man
rosters. Sanchez probably will
be optioned to the minors,
opening a spot on the 25-man
roster, because the Nationals
won’t need two utility infielders
on a four-player bench. The
40-man roster decision is less
clear, but Washington could
place reliever Austen Williams
on the 60-day IL because he has
already been out since late April
with a sprained AC joint in his
right shoulder.
Manager Dave Martinez shook
Fedde’s hand after the sixth in-
ning, even with how efficient he
had been to that point. Fedde
had done his part, giving up no
runs in six or more innings for
the first time in 24 career starts.
The Nationals had nudged ahead
in the third on an Anthony
Rendon RBI single. They added
two more runs in the fifth, when
Sam Coonrod balked and Kevin
Pillar lost Matt Adams’s lazy
flyball in the lights, and an
insurance run came in the ninth
on a double steal.
The lead was safe with Fedde.
And then it was safe with the
bullpen.
And all of that, bundled to-
gether, was a welcome change.
[email protected]up a career-high nine runs to the
Braves last week, making that
need for a starter look like a
code-red emergency. But then
here he was Monday, in a new-
found rhythm, rocking through a
delivery that was a tad quicker
than normal. The Nationals sped
up Fedde’s motion to improve
accuracy, to help him keep his
pitches low, to maybe even slow
everything else down.
And it worked. Fedde pounded
the bottom half of the zone,
throwing 39 sinkers, and allowed
just one base runner to reach
second. Eight of his 18 outs came
on the ground. He struck out just
two batters, the second and sev-
enth he faced, but walked none
by throwing 63 percent of his
pitches over the plate.son, Hunter Strickland and
Roenis Elías. Cabrera will pro-
vide infield depth and another
right-handed bat off the bench.
Yet that still left a box un-
checked. The Nationals have not
addressed their shaky rotation
depth. They tried, up until the
eve of the trade deadline, but a
deal fell through. That set a
contingency plan into motion,
and that meant more of the
same: running Fedde, Joe Ross
and Austin Voth out to the
mound, and hoping at least one
of them sticks.
The Nationals will need some-
one to join the rotation full-time.
Max Scherzer, Stephen Stras-
burg, Patrick Corbin and Aníbal
Sánchez can only pitch four of
every five days. But as long as
Voth and Scherzer are hurt —
and Scherzer remains on the
injured list with shoulder issues
— Fedde and Ross will get their
chances. Ross did his part in
Phoenix on Friday, yielding just
one hit in 5^1 / 3 innings against the
Arizona Diamondbacks, walking
five in an otherwise solid case for
a spot.
Then came Fedde’s turn
against the Giants. He was Wash-
ington’s first substitute starter
earlier this season, once Jeremy
Hellickson was sidelined by a
shoulder strain in mid-May. But
Fedde lost that job with three
bad outings, each one worse than
the last, and landed back in the
minors by the start of summer.
His command had slipped. He
was losing batters when ahead in
counts. He was at a bit of a
crossroads, as a former top pitch-
ing prospect, before injuries
brought another opportunity.
Fedde was sharp in his first
appearance upon returning. He
was awful in the next one, givingNATIONALS FROM D1United began to prepare for his
possible departure as early as this
fall. To provide long-term cover —
and to bolster the struggling at-
tack — the club began pursuing
Ola Kamara, a high-scoring for-
ward for the Columbus Crew and
LA Galaxy from 2016 to 2018.
United reached a deal to ac-
quire Kamara from Chinese club
Shenzhen for about $2.5 million,
two people close to the MLS team
said Monday. Kamara attended
the 5-1 defeat to the Philadelphia
Union on Sunday at Audi Field
and is finalizing a contract. It’s
unclear when he would be eligible
to play.
Rooney, who will turn 34 in
October, has been a blockbuster
success with 23 goals and 14 as-
sists in 43 regular season appear-
ances. This season, while United
(9-7-9) has failed to meet expecta-
tions, the captain leads the team in
goals (11) and assists (seven).
Coinciding with the opening of
Audi Field in July 2018, Rooney’s
arrival was instrumental in turn-
ing the on-field and off-field for-
tunes of the once-wayward club.
He had an immediate impact on
season ticket sales, and his No. 9
jersey became one of the most
popular in the league.
He provided two of the most
electrifying moments in club his-
tory, both against Orlando: a mid-
field tackle and spectacular assist
last summer, and a goal from more
than 60 yards this year.
[email protected]ing in England. At the time, club
officials said, he was also dealing
with minor injuries and needed a
break from game action. But the
family issues also played a part.
He returned for the subsequent
game in Chicago and reported to
Orlando for the MLS All-Star
Game, where he not only started
against Atletico Madrid but was
one of three all-stars to participate
in a skills challenge a day earlier.
Dismissing tabloid reports he
was looking to leave MLS, Rooney
said in Orlando, “I am happy play-
ing here.”
Behind the scenes, however,near Manchester.
Rooney, one person said, would
like to remain in Washington
through the 2020 season, but
those family concerns might
expedite his departure.
Another person who spoke on
the condition of anonymity said:
“It’s a single issue” — his wife
wants to be back in England full-
time. “She misses her parents and
siblings. Wayne couldn’t stay in
D.C.” without his wife and chil-
dren, the person said.
Less than two weeks ago,
Rooney skipped United’s match at
Atlanta to join his family vacation-NATIONALS ON DECK
at San Francisco Giants
Today 9:45 MASN 2
Tomorrow 3:45 MASN 2at New York Mets
Friday 7:10 MASN
Saturday 7:10 MASN
Sunday 1:10 MASNvs. Cincinnati Reds
Monday 7:05 MASN 2
Aug. 13 7:05 MASN 2
Aug. 14 4:05 MASN 2Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM)NATIONALS NOTESStretford’s Triple S Communica-
tions, said the group had no
comment.
United officials were quiet on
the matter, and because Monday
was a day off for the players,
Rooney was not available
for interviews.
Rooney is under contract, so
United probably would expect to
collect a transfer fee. United ac-
quired him on a free transfer last
year from Everton in the top-tier
Premier League and signed him to
the largest contract since the team
launched in 1996.
His pact runs through the 2021
season, at a base salary of $3.5 mil-
lion this year. He has said repeat-
edly he has enjoyed the new ad-
venture in MLS after spending his
entire career with two clubs, Man-
chester United and Everton. Until
last year, he had never lived far
from his boyhood home in Liver-
pool.
Derby is 90 miles southeast of
Liverpool. The club, known as the
Rams, is in the second-flight
Championship for the 12th con-
secutive year. It finished sixth last
season among 24 clubs.
Rooney’s wife, Coleen, and four
children live with him in Bethes-
da, but the strain of being far from
England has taken a toll, people
close to the situation said. Wayne
and Coleen grew up in the same
part of Liverpool. The couple owns
a $26 million home in Cheshire,
ROONEY FROM D1
who is in his fourth season with
Philadelphia, broke from the team
celebration and jogged to the cor-
ner of the field.
He leaned over and said, “Hey,
Congress, do something now! End
gun violence! Let’s go!”
His message was heard on Fox
Sports 1’s coverage of the match.
Afterward, Bedoya, who was voted
MLS player of the week Monday,
explained his motivation.
“It just hit me in my mind: I’ve
got to say something right now,
make a stand,” he said. “I’m a
human being before I am any-
thing. I’ll never just stick to sports;
I never have. Something’s got to
happen. Something’s got to
change.”
Union Coach Jim Curtin said: “I
am on Alejandro’s team in the
Philadelphia Union and I am on
Alejandro’s team in support of his
comments [on] gun control....
I’m on his side. It’s outrageous.
Things need to change in this
country, for sure, and I will sup-
port anyone who speaks their
mind and is intelligent and in-
formed on it every time. That is
what Alejandro is — he’s passion-
ate, he cares — and it’s a real issue
in our country.
“A lot of people will tell me and
tell [Bedoya] to shut up, stick to
sports and all the stupid lines that
come up, but it’s crazy in our coun-
try right now.”
[email protected]BY STEVEN GOFFMajor League Soccer said
Monday that it will not discipline
Philadelphia’s Alejandro Bedoya
for grabbing a field-level micro-
phone at Audi Field on Sunday
and imploring Congress to
address gun violence.
The decision came from MLS’s
executive level; the league’s disci-
plinary committee, which consid-
ers potential fines and suspen-
sions for actions ranging from em-
bellishment to violent conduct,
has not met this week and will not
address the Bedoya matter, a
league spokeswoman said.
In what the league said will be
its only comment on the matter,
MLS issued a statement saying,
“The Major League Soccer family
joins everyone in grieving for the
loss of lives in Texas and Ohio, and
we understand that our players
and staff have strong and passion-
ate views on this issue.”
The incident occurred in the
third minute after Bedoya scored
the opening goal in the Union’s 5-1
victory over D.C. United. The for-
mer U.S. national team midfielder,MLS will not punish Bedoya
for gun violence comments
Rooney may join English club, serve as player-coach
During win over United,
Philadelphia player
implored Congress to actFedde helps Nats snap out of their skid
JONATHAN NEWTON/THE WASHINGTON POST
D.C. United captain Wayne Rooney leads the team in goals (11)
and assists (seven) this season, his second with the club.BOB LEVEY/GETTY IMAGES
Two-time all-star Asdrúbal
Cabrera had hit .235 for Texas.PHOTOS BY THEARON W. HENDERSON/GETTY IMAGES
Adam Eaton scores for the Nationals in the third inning against the Giants. Washington had lost seven of 10 games entering Monday night.Trea Turner is too quick for the Giants’ Brandon Belt, who was retired at second base in the eighth.