Red-hot Andrew Stevenson is rebuilding career with Red Wings

The inclination would be to think that the National League adding the designated hitter this season was a good thing for the guys who swing bats for a living.

But the fact that the NL finally caught up with the rest of the baseball universe probably cost Rochester Red Wings outfielder Andrew Stevenson his chance to make the Washington Nationals roster in 2022.

“I knew with the implementing of the DH that there was going to be limited opportunities for me,” Stevenson said this week.

Here’s why: Stevenson had spent parts of five seasons with the Nationals since they picked him in the second round of the 2015 draft, and while he was usually just an occasional starter or a late-game defensive replacement, pinch hitter or pinch runner, at least he had a role as a utility man.

But with pitchers no longer batting, some NL teams decided to use a roster spot specifically for the DH, typically an older veteran who still had some wallop in his bat.

Sure enough, the Nationals were one of those teams as they signed 41-year-old DH extraordinaire Nelson Cruz, and when the team picked its final roster to start the season, there was no place for Stevenson. In fact, the Nationals felt there wasn’t even a spot on the 40-man roster so they designated the 28-year-old for assignment.

“I didn’t necessarily see that (DFA) coming but it’s a business and they gotta do what they gotta do,” said Stevenson, who owns a career .248 average and .687 OPS but has only eight homers and 28 total extra base hits in his 449 plate appearances for the Nationals.

Stevenson theoretically had two options: He could report to the Red Wings and try to earn his way back onto the 40-man, or he could say goodbye to the only professional organization he’s ever known and hook on with another. But realistically, Rochester was the only option.

“It was just the timing of it all,” he said. “With two days before the season starting, most teams already had their rosters filled up so at that time, there wasn’t going to be too many big league opportunities for me. I was comfortable with the guys here, I knew (manager Matt) LeCroy and his staff so I was going to a familiar place and if I could be in the lineup every day, I knew I could produce and play well with these guys.”

And that has certainly been the case.

Stevenson has been one of the Wings best players all year and LeCroy - who managed him for parts of three seasons at Double-A Harrisburg - is thrilled that he’s here. He’s third in the International League with a .311 average, 11th with a .376 on-base percentage, he leads the league with 21 doubles, and is fourth with 20 stolen bases.

“He’s continuing to prove to people that he can play in the big leagues and he provides that veteran presence at the top of the lineup,” LeCroy said. “He gets things going every night it seems. He locks in and these young guys who’ve never been in the big leagues can learn a lot from watching him work every day, how hard he plays, how he prepares, and he’s able to carry it over to the game.”

Stevenson hails from Louisiana and he fulfilled a dream by playing his college baseball at nearby LSU in a program that has produced a long line of major leaguers including current stars DJ LeMahieu, Alex Bregman, Aaron Nola, and Kevin Gausman.

“They were able to give me that opportunity and that was some of the best times ever, playing in front of the home crowd there in Baton Rouge,” said Stevenson, whose younger brother Josh is now playing at LSU.

The first signs of the work ethic LeCroy speaks so highly of showed up his freshman year in 2013 when he hit just .193. That summer he played in the wood bat Northwoods League in Wisconsin, hit .345, then returned to LSU and produced two outstanding years.

“Yeah, my freshman year of school, I didn’t get off to the hottest start and my glove definitely kept me in the lineup,” he said. “I was able to turn that around my next few years and turned into a pretty decent hitter.”

He finished with a career .311 average and .372 on base and in 2015, he and Bregman helped lead the Tigers to the College World Series in Omaha where they lost to TCU. Weeks later, the Astros picked Bregman No. 2 overall in the draft while the Nationals got Stevenson in the second round at No. 58.

Stevenson made his MLB debut in July 2017, played little in 2018 and 2019, and in 2019 he made a pinch-running appearance in the Nationals’ wild-card victory over the Brewers.

He wasn’t on the playoff roster for the remainder of Washington’s surprising run to the championship, but he had a dugout view as the Nationals beat Bregman’s Astros in the World Series, an experience he will always cherish.

“Yeah, it was cool,” he said. “There’s nothing better than playoff baseball, just the crowd, the energy and just knowing that every little thing could determine the outcome of the game. I think just being a part of that energy, being a part of that whole whirlwind experience was something I’ll never forget. I’m definitely gonna take that as I continue my baseball career.”

The way Stevenson has played this season, there’s a chance the Nationals will call him up and give him another look, though they’d have to lop someone else off the 40-man.

“I think it’s just going out and being able to play every day,” he said, explaining his superb season. “The past few years, my role with the big league team was come off the bench, pinch hit or get that spot start every now and then.

“Just the consistency of being able to play every day is definitely factored into my performance. I’m just going to come out here and play the best I can, play hard and maybe get another shot with this team or another one.”

Company man that he is, LeCroy is hoping it’s with the Nationals.

“He’s done a really nice job for us this year,” LeCroy said. “This is one of the best offensive years and at bats that I’ve seen in a long time.”

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Andrew Stevenson former Washington Nationals outfielder LSU Tigers