If history is guide, Nats will give Kieboom chance to stay

When his team suffered a spate of early-season injuries in April 2012, Mike Rizzo made the decision to call up Bryce Harper and give the 19-year-old a chance in the big leagues. Harper never returned to the minors.

When his team needed a third baseman in April 2013, Rizzo summoned Anthony Rendon straight from Double-A. Rendon would briefly return to the minors, but by June he was back in the majors for good.

When his team needed an offensive boost in August 2015, Rizzo promoted Trea Turner and kept him on the roster through the end of the season. Turner would open 2016 in the minors, but by midsummer was in the Nationals' everyday lineup and has remained there ever since.

And when his team was losing outfielders left and right in May 2018, Rizzo called up Juan Soto before anyone else thought the 19-year-old was ready. Soto never looked back, producing one of the greatest offensive seasons ever by a teenager.

Tonight comes the latest in this line of highly touted position-player prospects to make their major league debut. The Nationals have been excited about Carter Kieboom since they drafted him in 2016. Now they're about to find out if the 21-year-old infielder is up to the task the way those who came before him were.

It's not entirely clear yet what prompted this decision by Rizzo. The Nationals haven't announced any corresponding transactions yet, but Jake Noll was optioned to Triple-A and played for Fresno on Thursday night. They'll still need to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Kieboom.

But when you consider recent history, you can't help but assume Kieboom is coming because Rizzo wants him to play every day in the big leagues right now. Why? Perhaps because Turner's right index finger, which was broken 24 days ago, hasn't healed as quickly as hoped.

If Turner (who was seen wearing a brace on his hand as he talked to Rizzo on Wednesday in the visitors' clubhouse at Coors Field) was going to be ready to return from the injured list in the next 7-10 days, it seems unlikely the Nationals would call up Kieboom. They'd probably just stick with Wilmer Difo at shortstop in the short-term.

But if Turner's return is still several weeks away, Kieboom's promotion makes sense. He should be a clear offensive upgrade over Difo. And he may prove to be a more consistent defensive shortstop as well, not prone to the kind of mistakes Difo has made in Turner's absence. (Though it should be noted several club officials aren't convinced the 6-foot-2 Kieboom is ready to be a major league shortstop quite yet.)

Point is, Kieboom wouldn't be here if the Nationals didn't think they needed him. Rizzo typically doesn't call up top prospects and then sit them on the bench. (Turner is the rare exception who didn't get a lot of playing time following his first promotion.) Kieboom probably will be starting at shortstop tonight against the Padres.

How this all plays out after that remains to be seen. Harper wasn't originally supposed to stay in Washington. Neither was Soto. Both very quickly proved they deserved to stay.

Kieboom will need to prove the same. And if he does, the Nationals still have to figure out where to play him. Turner is an All-Star-caliber shortstop and a dynamic threat near the top of their lineup. Once healthy, he's going to return to the lineup. So perhaps Kieboom moves over to second base, where he started 6-of-18 games with Fresno to begin the season.

Then again, if everyone's healthy the Nationals already have Brian Dozier (who has gotten hot in recent days) and Howie Kendrick (who has been red-hot since he made his delayed season debut) as veteran second basemen on the roster. It's possible there won't be room for Kieboom to stick around for long right now.

But that's still to be determined. If Kieboom proves he's ready, the Nationals will find a way to keep him here.

Now all he has to do is prove it.