The Nationals are turning the page on their bullpen shuffle to make room for the guy their fan base has been waiting on since spring. Ortiz is heading to the big leagues, and Washington cleared a 40-man spot by designating lefty Matt Krook for assignment.
MLB Trade Rumors confirmed the corresponding moves: Ortiz up, Krook DFA'd.
Context matters here. Ortiz, 24, was part of the return Washington got from Texas in the MacKenzie Gore blockbuster over the winter, and he's been raking at Triple-A Rochester well before this call-up. Reports out of the org had suggested the Nats preferred to let him keep playing every day in the minors rather than bring him up for bench duty, but a bat that's been running hot eventually forces the issue.
Krook, meanwhile, barely had time to unpack. The Nationals only claimed him off waivers from Oakland days ago as part of a mini left-handed bullpen restock, with the Nats also adding arms like Tom Cosgrove and Konnor Pilkington to cover for Mitchell Parker's Tommy John surgery and Richard Lovelady's IL stint. Getting DFA'd this quickly is a reminder of how fluid a 40-man roster is during this stretch of the season — today's need is tomorrow's numbers casualty.
For Ortiz, this is the payoff moment. First-base prospects with real left-handed pop don't grow on trees, and Washington fans have been tracking his minor league line since the trade closed. A debut now means the Nats get an in-season look at whether he can be part of the answer at the position going forward, rather than just a name on a prospect list.
It also says something about where Washington's roster-building head is at with the trade deadline bearing down. Clearing a fringe bullpen claim to open a spot for a hitting prospect is a small move, but it's the kind of subtraction-by-addition call teams make when they're deciding who actually factors into the next chapter and who was just a stopgap.
Now it's on Ortiz to show it in the box score. Debuts are one thing — sticking is another, and the Nationals will be watching his first look against big-league pitching closely before deciding how big a role he gets down the stretch.