Just hours after the trade deadline, the Nationals embraced (yet another) youth movement with open arms by releasing 36-year-old Paul Lo Duca and 28-year-old Felipe Lopez.
You'd expect for both players to latch on with another team sometime soon, but the timing of their departure suggests the Nationals tried and failed to recoup any kind of value on the trade market. Now, any interested teams can take a flyer on them without being on the hook for the remainder of their $5 million and $4.9 million salaries, respecitively.
Lo Duca has been especially disappointing this year, hitting just .230 (.582 OPS) without a single home run in 139 at-bats. Sure, injuries have been a factor, but he didn't sound bitter at all about the move. From the Washington Post:
Asked if he was surprised about the moves, Lo Duca said, "I think they're making the right move. Other guys in here need to play and I'm taking up a spot."
As bad as Lo Duca was, Lopez hasn't been much better -- he's hitting .234 (.619 OPS) with two home runs in 325 at-bats. 23-year-old Emilio Bonifacio, acquired from the D'Backs in the Jon Rauch trade, will take over as the everyday second basemen. Bonifacio hasn't done much in two brief cups of coffee with the D'Backs the last two seasons, but he's .314 between Triple-A Tucson and Columbus this year and should be an immediate upgrade. Even though the Nationals didn't make a big move yesterday, they should have a better lineup today than they did yesterday.
