On the 40-man decisions and trade rumors

Pedro Florimon, we hardly knew ye.

The utility infielder, who the Nationals claimed off waivers from the Twins in mid-September, is now heading to the Pirates after Pittsburgh claimed him off waivers yesterday.

Three organizations in a little over two months. The life of a professional baseball player can be an interesting one.

The Nationals set their 40-man roster yesterday, adding A.J. Cole, Brian Goodwin, Wilmer Difo and Matt Grace and dropping Florimon and Ryan Mattheus.

Despite Difo having played only six games above low Single-A in his professional career, I'm not surprised that the Nats protected him from the Rule 5 draft by adding him to their 40-man roster, both because talent evaluators within the organization are very high on the 22-year-old's ability and because of the Nats' lack of infield prospects.

The Nats weren't willing to risk losing Difo in the Rule 5. Yes, it's rare to see a player who has topped out at A-ball stick on a major league roster for a full season after he was selected in the Rule 5, but it does happen.

In fact, it happened to the Nats just last year, when catcher Adrian Nieto was taken by the White Sox in the Rule 5 and then made it through the full 2014 season on Chicago's active roster. Nieto had played the 2013 season at high Single-A Potomac, while Difo played last season at low Single-A Hagerstown. Difo is still a prospect the Nats did not want to lose.

Corner infielder Matt Skole was the one notable Rule 5-eligible prospect that the Nats did not protect yesterday. Skole had Tommy John surgery early in the 2013 season and posted a .241/.352/.399 slash line at Double-A Harrisburg in 2014. We'll see if he is selected in the Rule 5 draft, which will be held on the final day of the Winter Meetings in December.

There will be a number of people in the organization sorry to see Mattheus go, after he was placed on outright assignment and elected free agency.

Mattheus, 31, had a tough last couple of years. He broke his right hand by punching a locker in 2013 and then posted a 6.37 ERA in 37 games with the Nats that season. Another injury set the right-hander back in the spring of 2014, and while he put up a 1.04 ERA in minimal major league action, Mattheus largely struggled this year, pitching to a 5.80 ERA at Triple-A Syracuse.

Still, Mattheus will likely be remembered by Nats fans for his strong work out of the bullpen for the 2012 National League East champions, when he put up a 2.85 ERA over 66 games. He was a vital member of that relief corps and delivered one of the more impressive performances of the 2012 National League Division Series against the Cardinals, needing just two pitches to record three outs and work out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam in the seventh inning of Game 1.

Mattheus is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, was beloved by his teammates and coaches, and will be missed in the clubhouse. Personally, I wish him well.

The righty put out the following tweets yesterday afternoon:

To DC and all Nats fans, thanks you so much! No better fans in the game.I appreciate all the support. I will truly miss you and your city

-- Ryan Mattheus (@RyanMattheus) November 21, 2014

To, the Washington Nationals. Thank you for the opportunity to make a dream come true. Class act organization top to bottom.#thankyou

-- Ryan Mattheus (@RyanMattheus) November 21, 2014

As for all the buzz that popped up yesterday about the USA Today report that Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister are being made available in trade talks, well, I'm not really sure why there was much buzz at all.

We've known for some time now that general manager Mike Rizzo will listen to trade offers on any of the players who are set to become free agents after the 2015 season. Not listening would be shortsighted.

Rizzo will do whatever he thinks is in the best interests of the organization as a whole, both when planning for 2015 and for future seasons. Rizzo shot down rumors a couple of weeks ago that had the Nats and Cubs discussing a trade involving Zimmermann, but that doesn't mean that those in the Nationals front office won't hear out any proposals that are put in front of them.

Zimmermann, Fister and Ian Desmond are all free agents after the 2015 season. The Nats have engaged all three about possible contract extensions in the past, but nothing has worked out as of yet. Tyler Clippard and Denard Span are also set to hit free agency next winter.

Rizzo has his eyes set on making another run at a World Series in 2015, but he'll do whatever he thinks is in the best interest of the club with 2016 and beyond in mind, as well.