Nationals Demote Yovanny Cruz, Promote Left-Handed Prospect for MLB Debut
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Before Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers, the Washington Nationals made another change to their pitching staff.
Per an announcement from the team, they shared that right-handed pitcher Yovanny Cruz had been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. Left-hander Erik Tolman had his contract selected as the corresponding move, which puts him in line to make his MLB debut.
Of course, the notable bit of this news is that Cruz is being demoted to the minors. He was a headliner of the return package from the New York Yankees in the Luis Garcia Jr. deal, but he has had some ups and downs since arriving in the nation's capital.
Yovanny Cruz Showed He Needs More Development
When the Nationals acquired Cruz from the Yankees, there was excitement about what he could become during his career. He has some big-time stuff with a triple-digit fastball and a wicked slider. But he also hasn't been dominant like his profile would otherwise suggest on paper.
That proved to be the case during his six outings for Washington. He had trouble finding the strike zone with five walks across four innings, and he gave up five earned runs on nine hits with two blown saves in his two opportunities. To make matters even worse, he didn't flash his high-strikeout potential, either, as he only rung up four batters across those four frames.
While fans might have been frustrated with what they saw from Cruz, the Nationals seem to be under no illusions that the 26-year-old was going to be a quick fix. After all, he had only made four MLB appearances in his career prior to being acquired by Washington, and all of those came this season.
Cruz has the upside of being a high-leverage bullpen arm or even a closer. But it's clear that he needs more time to develop if that's going to be the case. For now, he'll get a chance to work on things with Rochester, where, hopefully, he's able to locate his pitches much better.
Erik Tolman Set for His MLB Debut as Latest Bullpen Option
On the flip side of things, Tolman is now set to make his major league debut after he has recovered from a multitude of injuries during his career.
The 27-year-old lefty not only underwent Tommy John surgery during his last collegiate season at Arizona State University, but he also had to get another Tommy John procedure after he tore his UCL again following the rehab from his first surgery.
Tolman, who was a 14th-round pick in 2021 mainly because he had to get Tommy John surgery, didn't make his first professional appearance until the 2023 season. Unfortunately, during that campaign, he suffered a freak knee injury during a game where a dislocation caused him to tear his ACL, his PCL and his LCL, while his hamstring also was torn off the bone. The peroneal nerve in his right foot was also ruptured, which he needed surgery to fix since his foot was paralyzed. Tolman said in a conversation with FanGraphs that he had to "rewire" his brain to walk again.
After all of that, Tolman has fought his way to this point where he's on the verge of his MLB debut.
And he's done so by being a left-handed reliever who possesses some nasty stuff of his own, with TJStats giving him a TJStuff+ rating of 104 across his 32 outings with Triple-A Rochester this year. His 29.8% strikeout rate is in the 89th percentile, and he generates whiffs at a 37% clip, which puts him in the 97th percentile at Triple-A.
Tolman's ERA of 5.23 over those 32 appearances doesn't pop off the page. He's been hurt by walks, as he's issued 23 free passes over 31 innings pitched. But he's also struck out 42 batters while holding opponents to a batting average of .229, so there is some clear upside there.
Regardless of what takes place, it's incredible that Tolman has even gotten to this point where he's able to make his major league debut after dealing with the injuries he's had.
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Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai