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The Nationals have acquired a reliever, trading for David Carpenter of the New York Yankees, the team announced. The 29-year-old will be heading to the nation's capital in exchange for minor league infielder Tony Renda.
Carpenter has had a fair share of struggles in 2015 with the Yankees, after two good years in Atlanta with the Braves. In 22 games this season, Carpenter has a 4.82 ERA. He was traded this past winter from the Braves with Chasen Shreve to the Yankees in exchange for Manny Banuelos. The former Yankee, now National had a 6-4 record and a 3.54 ERA last season in 61 innings for the Braves.
Carpenter will join #Nats in Milwaukee sometime during this weekend's series. They'll need to remove someone from bullpen to make room.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) June 11, 2015
Nate McLouth, meanwhile, was transferred to 60-day DL to clear spot on #Nats 40-man roster for Carpenter.
— Mark Zuckerman (@ZuckermanCSN) June 11, 2015
Things got so bad for Carpenter this year, he was designated for assignment and some thought he would return to the Braves, who were actively looking for cheap relief options.
The Yankees get back 24-year-old Tony Renda in the deal. Renda was rated as the Nationals 18th best prospect by our friends over at Minor League Ball, graded as a C+. Last year with High-A Potomac, Renda hit .307 with a .381 on-base percentage.
IF Tony Renda, the player #Yankees acquired for David Carpenter, was #Nationals’ No. 12 prospect, according to Baseball America.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 11, 2015
The jump to Double-A Harrisburg hasn't been terrible for Renda. His average has dropped to .267, but still maintains a high on-base percentage of .333.
For the Nationals, trading Renda for Carpenter is a win-now type move. Although if Carptenter can figure out what has plagued him this year, mainly an increase of his HR/9 rate, the Nationals will have control of him through the 2017 season.
A move from the bandbox that is Yankee Stadium to a larger Nationals Park could be exactly what Carpenter needs to regain his mojo and give the Nationals a new option late in games as they are starting to heat up.