Nationals Inexplicably Release Elijah Dukes, Their Starting Right Fielder

Just this morning, after the Washington Nationals granted an unconditional release to presumed starting right fielder Elijah Dukes, there was a lot of chatter about how the team planned to give Dukes’ playing time to a group of internal replacements. However, with Jermaine Dye still on the market, attention naturally drifted in his direction, as some began to wonder whether GM Mike Rizzo would go high-profile. Says Rizzo: No.

The 36 year old Dye has clobbered 187 home runs over the past six years, but he’s spent all of that time playing in a hitter-friendly ballpark, and the slugger is also known as one of the worst defensive outfielders in baseball. So while he comes with considerable name value, he is not a good fit in Washington, and Rizzo’s front office recognizes as much.