Outfielder David Dahl has opted out of his minor league contract with the Nationals, reviews Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Publish (Twitter link). Washington might select to pick out him onto the MLB roster to maintain him within the fold, however Dougherty signifies they’ll let him head again onto the open market.
It’s the second consecutive minor league deal for Dahl that hasn’t resulted in a giant league alternative. He spent a yr with the Brewers high affiliate in Nashville after signing a non-roster pact final August. Regardless of posting strong numbers with the Sounds, Dahl was let go by Milwaukee this July. He latched on with the Nats a pair weeks later, with the membership seemingly eyeing him as a doable late-season alternative after some forthcoming deadline trades that subtracted from the lineup.
That didn’t wind up coming to be, as Dahl struggled over his 18 video games with their highest affiliate in Rochester. He hit .224/.304/.343 in 79 journeys to the plate, hanging out on 22 events (27.8% price). That’s a far cry from the .294/.357/.468 exhibiting he’d posted in 280 plate appearances with Nashville earlier within the yr, and the Nationals as a substitute chosen the contract of first baseman Joey Meneses and claimed outfielder Alex Call off waivers from the Guardians to backfill the 40-man roster.
Dahl’s most up-to-date MLB got here motion got here in the course of the first half of the 2021 season with the Rangers. Signed to a $3MM deal the previous offseason, the lefty-hitting outfielder hit .210/.247/.322 over 63 video games in Arlington earlier than being launched. That got here on the heels of an injury-wrecked 2020 season that had led the Rockies to chop him free, and it’s now been three years since Dahl seemed like a possible core piece in Colorado. The previous #10 general choose was an above-average hitter when wholesome in every of his first three MLB seasons, which included a .302/.353/.524 exhibiting in 2019 that earned him an All-Star nod.
The 28-year-old heads again into free company in the hunt for one other alternative. He appears prone to catch on elsewhere on a minor league pact, with a workforce that seeks non-roster outfield depth prone to be intrigued by his prior MLB success and up to date strong manufacturing on the higher ranges with Milwaukee. If Dahl finds a brand new touchdown spot by September 1, he’d technically be eligible for postseason play.
