Nationals Place Key Offseason Addition on Minor League Injured List
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During the offseason, new president of baseball operations didn't do a ton to put his thumb on the scale when it came to reshaping their major league roster, but he did make three notable trades.
The headline-grabbing one featured MacKenzie Gore. The Nationals shipped him to the Texas Rangers for five top 30 prospects, and that deal is looking like a massive win for Washington at this point in time. But that came after two other trades, as Toboni also acquired star catching prospect Harry Ford and right-handed pitcher Luis Perales in separate deals.
Perales was the first trade of the Toboni era. He dealt high-floor prospect Jake Bennett for the high-ceiling Perales. And during spring training, Nationals fans got a glimpse at why that deal was made. But unfortunately, the 23-year-old hasn't hit the ground running with Triple-A Rochester. And now, he's been placed on the injured list.
Luis Perales Gets Placed on Seven-Day Injured List
Per his MiLB player transactions page, the Rochester Red Wings moved him to the IL on May 22. No reason was given, but Allsports Roc shared postgame comments from manager Matthew Lecroy following Perales' last outing on May 17 where he discussed the fact that Perales was hit on the side of his throwing hand/wrist during the game.
At the time, Lecroy said things were positive since Perales was able to move his hand. But it seems like further evaluations caused them to put the starter on the shelf for a bit. If he recovers well and there are no setbacks, then he should be eligible to return on May 29.
How Luis Perales Has Performed Thus Far
It was a bit of a bumpy start for Perales at the beginning of the year. Still working his way up to speed after returning from Tommy John surgery late last season, he owned a 4.35 ERA to end the month of April. But since then, he has started to find his groove.
In May, Perales has an ERA of 1.84 across three starts. That includes two straight scoreless outings, which was the first time all year that he didn't allow a run in back-to-back starts. His improved form also matches some of his underlying metrics, as he still possesses high-end stuff with a tjStuff+ figure of 108 that's in the 97th percentile.
What is a bit of a concern, however, is the fact that his command is poor and he's failing to put away hitters on a consistent basis. Across 35 1/3 innings pitched, he has just 26 strikeouts and 18 walks, which is a poor combination for someone at this level, let alone for someone who previously was a strikeout machine.
The hope is Perales will return to that version of himself the further he gets away from Tommy John surgery. But he's going to need continued reps for that, so hopefully this IL stint is a short one.
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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