Is the writing on the wall for the struggling Victor Robles? The Washington Nationals optioned the young center fielder to Triple-A Rochester amid the emergence of Lane Thomas. The Nationals also recalled Andrew Stevenson, making Robles no longer one of the club’s top-four outfielders.
Following their 12-6 loss to the Phillies Tuesday night, Nationals manager Dave Martinez opened up about Robles being optioned.
“This one hurt me a lot, because I love Victor to death, and we’re going to be good when he comes back and he’s playing well,” Martinez said, per Patrick Reddington of Federal Baseball. “Take a load off his mind and not put so much pressure on himself.”
One upon a time Victor Robles was considered a better prospect than Juan Soto. The center fielder of the future, if you may. He seemed to be on that path manning the position as the Nationals won the World Series in 2019.
However, the 24-year old has struggled and drifted further away from his impressive 2019 season. His batting average has declined each season since his debut in 2018. This season, he has a career-low .203 batting average and .295 slugging percentage with two home runs, 19 RBIs, 32 walks and 85 strikeouts in 369 plate appearances.
He’s been unable to secure the lead-off spot. In fact his struggles led to the Nationals turning to unconventional methods like placing Kyle Schwarber at lead-off. His struggles have left him at the bottom of the order.
He also has had multiple base-running blunders. He has eight stolen bases in 14 attempts. His speed has seemingly diminished to go along with his inability to consistently hit at the plate.
With the Nationals out of contention following their fire sale in July that included trading Schwarber, the club has turned to other options for leadoff which led them to Lane Thomas. Thomas was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals last minute trade for Jon Lester ahead of the deadline.
Since being called up a couple weeks ago, Thomas has emerged hitting .304/.407/.457 in 14 games. He has six extra-base hits, including five doubles. What’s more impressive is his eight walks against 11 strikeouts.
Martinez maintains Robles is part of the Nationals future. But admitted there was no time table for his return to the majors.
In the meantime it’s obvious the Nats want an extended look at Thomas. He’s 26 years of age, and has flashed impressively through his first two weeks with the club. It’s also apparent Washington has turned the page off Robles after two straight struggling years in their quest to find a center fielder of the future.
