The Nats and O’s have hooked up for their second-ever deal just before the deadline: Washington is sending Triple-A outfielder Christian Franklin to Baltimore for Double-A RHP Joe Glassey.
Franklin, 26, was one of two players the Nats acquired from the Cubs in the Michael Soroka deal at the 2024 deadline, and he is in his third season at the Triple-A level. This season he has slashed .249/.375/.360 with six homers, 39 RBI, and 17 steals in 93 games while playing all three outfield positions.
He was blocked in DC in an outfield that contains James Wood, Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews, and Jacob Young at the MLB level and vet Joey Wiemer and top prospect Andrew Picnkney at AAA, but he could find an MLB role on an O’s team that just dealt Taylor Ward to Seattle.
Glassey, 25, was a UDFA signing in 2024 and spent most of this year at High-A Chesapeake, going 2-0 with a 2.86 ERA, four saves, and 50 K in 28 1/3 relief innings over 22 appearances. He was just promoted to Double-A Chesapeake last week and had made two appearances there, throwing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
He adds another potential future arm to a bullpen the Nationals are continuously rebuilding, as it has been one of the more disappointing units in the league given the team’s surprising success.
Baltimore and Washington had just hooked up last month for the first-ever trade between the two franchises in the DC era for the Nats, with Washington acquiring RHP Kyle Nicolas in exchange for minor-league infielder Randal Diaz.
Minor-league RHP Joe Glassey headed to DC in return
Minor-league RHP Joe Glassey headed to DC in return
