A referee decided that the right-handed Nationals Erick Fedde does not have an optional fourth season of the minor league, reports Jesse Dougherty of the Washington Post (Twitter link) This means that Fedde, a former first-round pick, is now out of the minor league options and therefore cannot be sent to Triple-A without first being exposed to waivers.
As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com described in February 2020, Nationals were given a fourth option on Fedde for the 2020 season because league rules stipulate that such an option is granted when a player has exhausted all three minor league options , despite not completing five “full” seasons (between major and minor combined).
A “complete” season, under these terms, involves 90 or more days in an active squad, be it a major league or a smaller team. Time on the injured list does not count for this definition. As such, Fedde’s 2015 season – what would have been his first “full” season after being chosen 18th overall in 2014 – didn’t count because he was recovering from Tommy John’s surgery for much of the year and didn’t accumulated the necessary 90 days. Going into the 2020 season, he played four “full” seasons, but spent all of his options. A fourth option was granted to the Nats.
The Nationals did not use this option last year at Fedde, keeping it at the MLB level throughout the season. The confusion surrounding Fedde, and others, was whether last year’s shortened schedule constituted a “full” season. It was less than 90 days long, but length of service and salary were prorated, so it can be argued that time on the list for purposes of determining secondary league option eligibility should be treated in a similar way. Fedde and agent Scott Boras probably appealed that, having spent the 2020 season on the list for as long as possible (67 days), he now has five “full” seasons on his resume, nullifying the fourth option.
It is a remarkable development for the Nationals pitching team. Fedde had already seemed to be a strange potential behind other righties Joe Ross, the likely fifth starter, and Austin Voth, which will probably open the year in the ‘pen. Both Ross and Voth had an advantage in the competition due to the fact that they were out of the minor league options, but Fedde is now in a similar position and is therefore much more likely to make the opening day list.
There is room for the Nats to carry the three launchers, but the sudden lack of an option for Fedde would deprive them of some bullpen flexibility. Brad Hand, Tanner Rainey and Daniel Hudson it’s obviously not going anywhere on the back of the pen, and Wander Suero it seems to be on solid ground as well. Most likely Voth is marked in a long place of relief because of his own lack of options. Adding Fedde to this mix can make it harder for someone not on the list, like Javy Guerra, Luis avilan or TJ McFarland to break the list. It is also not good news for 40-man relievers, as Kyle Finnegan and Ryne Harper, each of which has remaining secondary league options.
Earlier this spring, it emerged that several players were waiting for a word on whether or not they have a fourth option in the secondary league. The Cardinals’ Justin Williams, the Cubs’ Adbert Alzolay and the angels Jaime Barria were among the many players who are currently in this state of limbo. Derrick Goold of St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweeted earlier this afternoon, that some of that group were told that they really are out of options, so it looks like Fedde is the first known player among that group.