WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals made their second of two stunning roster decisions on Monday night, optioning third baseman Brady House back to Triple-A Rochester.
The decision followed a 12-inning, 16-7 home loss to the New York Mets on Monday and came hours after league sources told The Athletic that the club will recall outfielder Dylan Crews from Triple A on Tuesday.
The two decisions hold a number of parallels.
House, like Crews, was promoted aggressively through the minor leagues by the former stewards of the organization. He similarly has compelling tools but has yet to put them all together, making the organization think long and hard about whether he would develop more effectively in Washington or Rochester.
Ultimately, they landed on Rochester.
In 44 games, House hit .227 with a .681 OPS while committing an MLB-worst eight errors. At the plate, he whiffed on over 40 percent of pitches over 95 mph. In the field, he struggled mightily on slow rollers. He had been trending in the right direction but had not done enough for the organization to keep him on the big-league roster.
The 22-year-old was the club’s first-round pick in 2021 and made his big-league debut in the middle of last year. House was worth -0.3 fWAR last season, but he made the Opening Day roster out of spring training, earning the start at third base. In all, he started 38 of Washington’s 48 games, including Monday’s loss.
Across 117 games with the organization, he has a .615 OPS. His seven home runs this season were the third-most on the team.
