The Nationals announce they have signed the midfielder Nomar Mazara and midfielder Richie Martin to minor league deals. Both players were assigned to Triple-A Rochester.
Mazara has recorded MLB time for seven consecutive seasons. The former top prospect has never emerged as the mid-range racquet that Rangers reviewers and fans have come to expect after he made his way through the minor leagues. Mazara had reliable numbers as a rookie but failed to make the expected strides over the next few seasons. The left-hander was a slightly below average attacking player for four seasons before being assigned to the White Sox in 2020.
Since leaving Arlington, Mazara has had a particularly difficult time. He’s matched with the White Sox, Tigers and Padres, scoring between 100 and 200 appearances in each season. Back in early 2020, Mazara had a cumulative score of 0.235/.295/.324 with just six home runs and a 25.7% hit rate in 501 appearances.
The 27-year-old (28 later this month) has signed a minor league contract with the Orioles over the winter. He spent the spring with Baltimore, hitting .231/.286/.308 in 39 hits. After failing to make it through the camp exit list, he was released at the end of Spring Training. A few weeks later, Mazara started joining the Nationals – the sixth organization of his career.
Martin’s only MLB experience came in Baltimore. Picked out of the Oakland organization with the first pick of the 2018 Rule 5 draft, he scored 0.208/.260/.322 in 309 appearances as a rookie. That helped Orioles retain the rights under his long-term contract but he appeared in just 50 more games for the club over the next three seasons.
The product of the University of Florida is a career .212/.261/.311 goalscorer across 170 major league games. Martin carries the .240/.336/.366 series in Triple-A grade. Despite his bland offense, he was still of interest as a depth pick for his defence throughout the infield. He’ll add some coverage behind the midfield parallels CJ Abrams And Luis Garcia with Rochester.
