Why the Nats aren't likely to bump up Crews' debut

ATLANTA – The Nationals determined Friday they were ready to promote Dylan Crews to the major leagues. But not until Monday, when the team opens a high-profile, three-game home series against the Yankees.

It all makes sense, of course. Teams are always going to try to let their top prospects debut at home, reaping the benefits of the extra attention (and extra ticket sales) that come with that. But it was impossible not to at least ponder one particular question Friday afternoon: If the Nats have already decided Crews is ready to play in the big leagues, why not call him up immediately?

That question became even more pertinent in the bottom of the second inning Friday night, when Alex Call came charging in from right field on a shallow fly ball and felt something snap in his left foot. As Call was being carted off the field in pain, it was only natural to wonder what the team would do to replace him, and whether Crews’ debut would suddenly be bumped up 48 hours.

“I don’t know that yet,” manager Davey Martinez said when asked directly about the possibility after the game, a 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Braves. “I’ve got to talk to (general manager Mike Rizzo).”

It may become moot if Call’s injury turns out not to be as serious as it looked in the moment. He was cautiously optimistic by night’s end that he avoided catastrophe, that he had only felt the already stretched plantar fascia in his foot snap, which could actually relieve the pain he had been experiencing and allow him to return to the field in short order. Perhaps he might not even need to go on the injured list.

The Nationals, who used Joey Gallo in right field to finish Friday’s game, could continue to play the big slugger out there the rest of the weekend and proceed with the original plan to call up Crews on Monday. Or, if they don’t want to risk playing a man down the rest of the weekend, they could call up Travis Blankenhorn, Trey Lipscomb or Joey Meneses from Triple-A Rochester for a couple of days.

Either way, the odds of Crews hopping a flight to Atlanta appeared slim at best. The 22-year-old served as Rochester’s designated hitter Friday night and went 0-for-4 with a walk. That was due to be his final minor league game, ensuring he didn’t suffer a freak injury of his own this weekend while also giving him and his family time to travel to Washington and get settled in.

This, in so many ways, mirrors the Nationals’ handling of James Wood earlier this summer. Wood also learned of his promotion to the majors three days in advance. He also played one final game at Triple-A before spending the rest of the weekend moving to D.C. He made his debut on a Monday night against a team from New York.

What’s notable, of course, is how the Nats handled a couple of previous high-profile debuts in a very different manner.

Bryce Harper was every bit as big a deal as Wood and Crews, arguably much bigger given the hype that surrounded him since he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated at 16. The Nationals would have loved to debut Harper in a home game, but several injuries in April 2012 – most notably one suffered by Ryan Zimmerman – prompted Rizzo to bring Harper up for a Saturday night game at Dodger Stadium.

Six years later, Juan Soto was still getting used to the pitching at Double-A, having just been promoted from Single-A less than two weeks prior, when Howie Kendrick ruptured his Achilles’ tendon in D.C. Rizzo made the surprise move to promote Soto straight to the majors right then, with less than 24 hours’ notice.

The difference in the Harper and Soto cases of the past from the Wood and Crews cases of the present? Those Nationals teams were attempting to win, and the outcome of every game mattered more than the location or timing of a top prospect’s debut.

That’s not the case right now in D.C., and it hasn’t been for three years now. If they were truly prioritizing wins, Crews would’ve been their starting right fielder Friday night at Truist Park.

There’s nothing wrong with the organization’s rationale. You only get to experience the bump that comes from a big debut once in a while. Might as well make sure it happens in the most advantageous situation for the franchise as a whole.

But it is yet another reminder that, for all the progress the Nationals have made, the rebuild still isn’t complete. They can only hope their next big debut comes the moment a top prospect is ready, no matter if they’re scheduled to play in D.C. or Kansas City that night.