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When reporters arrived at the Washington Nationals' clubhouse this morning, 24-year-old first baseman was already in the room, having made the trip from the Nats' Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse as the Washington Post's Adam Kilgore reported he likely would last night. At 10:49 am the Nationals confirmed the obvious with a press release announcing that the '06 1st Round pick had been recalled, coming back to the majors for the first time since 2011.
Marrero has a .306/.355/.502 line with nine doubles, a triple and 10 HRs in 55 games and 228 plate appearances this year for the Syracuse Chiefs. Over his last 10 games, the 15th pick of the '06 Draft is 12 for 37 (.324/.405/.405) with three of his nine doubles this season over that stretch.
Speaking to reporters this morning, Nats' GM Mike Rizzo told the Washington Times' Amanda Comak that Marrero was up as the 26th man as rules allow since the team is playing a doubleheader with the Minnesota Twins today in the nation's capital:
#nats GM Mike Rizzo said the team will decide after today's doubleheader if Chris Marrero is here as 26th man or on a longer-term basis.
— Amanda Comak (@acomak) June 9, 2013
Marrero hasn't played in the majors since 2011 when he posted a .248/.274/.294 line over 31 games and 117 plate appearances following his MLB debut on August 27, 2011 in Cincinnati's Great American Ballpark. Over eight seasons in the Nationals' system since they made the Monsignor Edward Pace high school product their second-ever first round pick, the 6'3'', 230 lb first baseman has a combined .286/.353/.456 line over every level of the Nats' organization.
A hamstring injury in 2011 suffered while playing Winter ball shut Marrero down after he'd broken through to the major league level and seemed poised to get a look in Washington in 2012. Marrero worked his way back and posted a .272/.351/.394 line across the Nationals' system last season and has hit the well and shown some power at Triple-A before today's call-up. As the Washington Times' Ms. Comak's report notes, the Nationals will make a roster decision after today's games.