The Nationals called up outfielder Michael A. Taylor and infielder Wilmer Difo before Tuesday’s home game with the New York Mets. Both players had spent time with Washington earlier this year and both had been in the minors: Difo at Triple-A and Taylor at Double-A.
Taylor hit .248 with 10 steals in 57 games for Harrisburg, which begins the playoffs Wednesday at Bowie.
He began the year with the Nationals and hit .211 in 43 games before going to Double-A.
“You look at needs and stuff,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez told reporters earlier this week. “For me, moving forward, it’d be nice to have a guy that you could count on to pinch-run or steal a base. But other than that, if you look at our team, we got guys that can do a bunch of different things.”
Taylor is a strong defender in center field who has struggled at the plate with strikeouts in the majors.
Difo hit .300 in 61 games with Fresno, which ended its season Monday.
The Nationals (77-59) entered Tuesday 6 1/2 games back of first-place Atlanta in the National League East. But Washington had won 16 of its last 20 and held the top spot in the wild-card race.
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