Washington Nationals designate former Toronto Blue Jays catcher for assignment

MASN's Mark Zuckerman reports that the Nationals have designated Riley Adams for assignment in order to free up a spot on the 40-man roster.

The move clears the way for Washington to claim right-hander Gus Varland off waivers from the Diamondbacks. Varland is the older brother of Blue Jays reliever Louis Varland.

Originally drafted by Toronto, he arrived in Washington at the 2021 trade deadline as part of the deal that sent left-hander Brad Hand to the Blue Jays.

Throughout his time with the Nats, Adams largely served as a shuttle player between the majors and minors, never appearing in more than 48 games in a single season.

He used up his final minor league option in 2024 but remained on the big-league roster through the 2025 campaign.

In total, Adams has logged 263 major league games and 849 plate appearances. While he's shown some power - hitting 21 home runs - his offensive profile has been held back by a 32.5% strikeout rate.

He owns a career slash line of .211/.287/.354, good for a 78 wRC+.

Defensively, the reviews have been unfavorable, with outlets such as FanGraphs, Baseball Prospectus, and Statcast all rating him as a below-average defender.

Last November, Adams and the Nationals avoided arbitration by agreeing to a split contract that pays $1 million at the major league level and $500,000 in the minors.

Because he has accrued more than three but fewer than five years of service time, Adams would have the right to reject an outright assignment.

However, doing so would require forfeiting the remaining guaranteed money on his deal.
Given those circumstances, there's a reasonable chance Adams clears waivers and remains in the organization as non-roster depth.

Also read on Blue Jays Central :
Tainted relationship prompted Bo Bichette's split with Toronto Blue Jays, former teammate says