Rays designate Michael Grove for assignment

The move opens up a spot on the 40-man for Reiver Sanmartín. Nicolas, 27, was acquired from the Orioles in July, but he never pitched in the majors for the Nationals. He has a 4.96 ERA and a 103/66 K/BB in 105 1/3 innings as a major leaguer, most of which came with the Pirates.

Sanmartín, who was DFA’d on Monday, had a 4.22 ERA in 24 appearances for the Giants last season. The 30-year-old seems more like a quality minor league signing than someone a team should keep on a 40-man all winter, but the Nationals are optimistic about something here. They also claimed fellow reliever Braxton Roxby off waivers last week and traded for Nate Furman on Sunday, so they’ve now taken advantage of the Giants’ roster purge three times.

Cranz, 23, was the 200th overall selection in the 2024 draft, getting taken out of Oklahoma State. He stalled after a late promotion to Triple-A last season, giving up 17 earned runs in 11 2/3 innings. However, he was excellent before that, and he finished with a 76/32 K/BB in 54 innings overall. In his 26 1/3 innings in Double-A, he fanned 36 percent of the batters he faced.

After overcoming a forearm issue that sidelined him for the first half of the season, the 33-year-old Harris had a 2.55 ERA and a 27/16 K/BB in 24 2/3 innings for Boston’s Triple-A affiliate last season. His only major league experience came in 2023, when he had a 5.12 ERA in 19 1/3 innings for the Nationals.

Vivas is hitting .410 with two homers in 11 games. The 25-year-old’s first full season in the majors with the Nationals came with the expected strong plate discipline and very little power, as he finished at .238/.332/.322 in 364 plate appearances. He has outlasted fellow left-handed-hitting infielder José Tena on the roster, but he probably won’t be promised anything in spring training. Since he’s not viewed as even an occasional option at shortstop, it will definitely hurt his chances of sticking around if the team decides to make CJ Abrams a full-time second baseman.

Baseball America had Salas as the game’s No. 93 prospect when the Twins got him from the Marlins in the Luis Arraez deal four years ago, but he’s been very disappointing since and he hit just .199/.279/.376 between High-A and Double-A at age 23 last season. He is, however, off to a really nice start in Venezuela, having batted .407 with 10 RBI through nine games. Salas qualified for minor league free agency at the conclusion of the season, so he’s auditioning for everyone this winter.

Odor, a 10-year major league veteran, is still only 32, but he seems content to just play winter ball these days. He signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in 2024, but he never played in any games before being released. Before that, he signed to play in Japan, only to return home when the team wanted to assign him to the minors. Last year, Odor finished fourth in the VWL with 12 homers. He’s off to a particularly nice start this winter, having gone 10-for-24 with two homers, two doubles and five walks in eight games.

Francisca just continues to fill up the box score. Even in a high offense environment, his .420/.488/.710 line is incredible. That 1.198 OPS is 89 points higher than Antonio Anderson in second place. His 28 RBI also tops the circuit by five.

The Javelinas went 12-for-13 stealing bases in the 5-3 win over the Rafters, with Carter Graham and Ty Harvey collecting three apiece. Peete is tied for second in the AFL with a .357 average and is third with an 1.103 OPS. He’s 17-for-21 stealing bases in 17 games.

That lowers his ERA in five AFL starts to 10.43. Robinson, a 2024 11th-round pick, was traded twice this year, going from the A’s to the Pirates for Alika Williams in May and then on to the Angels for Kirby Yates at the deadline. He’ll likely open next year in the rotation at Double-A Rocket City.