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The Washington Nationals announced this afternoon that they had outrighted 25-year-old, 2006 1st Round pick Chris Marrero to Triple-A Syracuse following a 2013 season spent mostly with the Nats' top affiliate which saw the 6'3'', 230 lb first baseman post a .270/.331/.402 line with 17 doubles and 11 HRs in 111 games and 450 plate appearances:
The Washington #Nationals outrighted 1B Chris Marrero to Triple-A Syracuse today.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) October 24, 2013
Today's move removes Marrero from the Nationals' 40-Man Roster. After eighth seasons in the organization, Marrero, who has a .282/.350/.445 line in 784 games and 3,241 plate appearances as a minor leaguer and a .232/.256/.272 line in 39 games and 133 PAs in the majors will become a minor league free agent after the World Series. After debuting in the majors in 2011, Marrero suffered a torn hamstring playing winter ball late that year which required surgery, so when he could have been competing for a job on the Nationals' bench in 2012, he was instead rehabbing the next Spring.
Marrero, a Miami, Florida-born, Monsignor Edward Pace High School-educated infielder who was drafted as a third baseman and tried in the outfield at one point, posted a combined .272/.351/.394 line at five levels of the Nats' system in 2012, but the first baseman didn't play at the major league level again until he was called up this past June. Before he returned to the majors, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo spoke to 106.7 the FAN in D.C.'s Holden Kushner and Danny Rouhier about Marrero finally getting over injury issues.
"Marrero's finally healthy," Rizzo said, "That's been the bugaboo on this guy since we drafted him, is that he has a propensity to be injured. But when he's healthy, he's a threat at the plate. He's got a good approach. He's got power to all fields. And he's a hitter first and a power hitter second and he's getting better and better defensively at first base."
Though his next opportunity might come with a different organization, Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore spoke to a scout today who said there's still some upside with the 25-year-old first baseman:
Scout on Marrero: "I would not give up on Marrero. He can still hit. Just needs the right opportunity with right team, preferably in AL."
— Adam Kilgore (@AdamKilgoreWP) October 24, 2013
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