The Nationals introduced that left-hander Jose A. Ferrer has been reinstated from the 60-day injured record. Righty Amos Willingham was optioned to Triple-A to open an lively roster spot. The Nats had two 40-man vacancies attributable to releasing infielder Nick Senzel and buying and selling proper Hunter Harvey to the Royals, so their depend now climbs from 38 to 39.
Ferrer, 24, suffered a left lat pressure throughout spring coaching and has spent all the marketing campaign on the IL till now. That has prevented him from constructing off final 12 months’s major-league debut. He tossed 34 innings for the Nats in 2023 with a 5.04 earned run common. His 17.6% strikeout price was subpar, however his 9.2% stroll price was round common. He bought floor balls at a robust clip of 57.8% but in addition allowed 4 house runs, a price of 18.2% per fly ball.
Superior metrics thought he was a bit unfortunate to have his ERA that prime. Maybe attributable to a comparatively excessive .333 batting common on balls in play, his FIP was 4.55. SIERA, which normalizes house run charges, was much more bullish at 4.16.
Ferrer now slots into the membership’s bullpen, giving them a second lefty alongside Robert Garcia. There ought to be loads of alternatives for Washington relievers within the ultimate few months of the season. They already traded Harvey and will probably additionally flip Kyle Finnegan, Dylan Floro, Derek Legislation or Jacob Barnes by season’s finish, as nobody in that group is controllable past 2025.
That might give Ferrer a little bit of runway to make up for misplaced time. He nonetheless has a few choices and got here into 2024 with lower than a 12 months of service, so he could possibly be a long-term piece for the Nats if he performs effectively sufficient to proceed holding a roster spot. He’s all the time been a floor ball man within the minors but in addition with extra punchouts than he confirmed within the majors final 12 months. Courting again to the beginning of 2021, he has a 27% strikeout price on the farm.
