Nationals Option Two Pitchers, Make More Cuts to Their MLB Spring Camp
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There is a lot happening at this point on the baseball calendar, but the Washington Nationals continue to plug away and prepare for the upcoming season.
With Opening Day roughly two-and-a-half weeks away, the projected starters will begin to get more and more reps during spring training games, which means there won't be much for the extras in big league camp to do. Because of that, the Nationals will continue to reassign players to minor league camp like they have done before.
That was the case on Sunday. Washington announced their third round of cuts from MLB camp. But this time, they also revealed they optioned right-handed pitchers Riley Cornelio and Luis Perales to Triple-A Rochester.
Riley Cornelio Likely Out of the Running for Opening Day Spot
This might be the most notable decision of the spring thus far. Cornelio has been impressive during his two outings, as he is tied with Cade Cavalli for the most strikeouts on the team with seven. He's also given up just one run on three hits and has issued zero walks across his five innings pitched, which seemed to make him a dark horse for an Opening Day roster spot.
However, it appears like the Nationals envision more from the 25-year-old than just being a reliever. He's come up the ranks as a starter his whole career, and based on this decision to option him to Triple-A right now, it seems like that's the role the organization wants to keep him in.
Because of that, it could take a little while before fans see Cornelio in the bigs this season barring injury or an immediate run of poor play by someone in the rotation. But he's someone to keep an eye one, especially if he performs well with Rochester right from the start.
Luis Perales Will Get More Time to Develop
It was only a matter of time before Perales was sent to the minors based on him still working his way back from Tommy John surgery. He's going to get more time to develop with this new staff as he recovers, which could be the best thing for his career.
Perales flashed his electric stuff when he made his team debut against the New York Mets during a spring training game on March 5. His fastball is back to almost triple digits and his slider is about as elite as they come. However, there are control issues still present, and he'll need to hone those in if he's going to be a starter in the MLB. This will be an important period for him to improve upon that or there's a chance he'll be converted into a relief arm.
More Players Were Reassigned to Minor League Camp
- INF Orelvis Martinez
- INF Sergio Alcantara
- RHP Bryce Montes de Oca
- RHP Tyler Baum
- C Caleb Lomavita
Just based on name recognition alone, top 30 prospect Caleb Lomavita and former top 100 prospect Orelvis Martinez are the cuts that stand out. Making the team was always going to be hard for either of these two players, but Martinez made a good run at things by going 4-for-10 with a walk and a strikeout, although none of those hits were for extra bases and he was caught stealing twice. Lomavita didn't have the same success, as he went 2-for-9 with four strikeouts in six games.
29-year-old journeyman Sergio Alcantara was brought in on a minor league deal this January. It'll be interesting to see what happens with him going forward, especially after the other utility options in camp provided much more at the plate than he did.
Both Bryce Montes de Oca and Tyler Baum were brought in during the offseason as potential flyers who might be able to compete for a bullpen spot. But neither were able to showcase their best stuff, as Montes de Oca allowed three earned runs in 2 1/3 innings pitched with five strikeouts and five walks across his three outings, while Baum allowed two earned runs in three innings pitched across his three outings. But he also walked five batters compared to striking out only three.
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