The Washington Nationals have the opportunity to secure a series victory over the New York Mets if they are able to win the finale on Thursday.
Prior to the contest getting underway, the Nationals received a reinforcement for their pitching staff. Right-handed reliever Clayton Beeter was activated off the 15-day injured list and reinstated on the major league roster after he completed his rehab assignment for what was diagnosed as discomfort in his throwing forearm. However, to make room for Beeter, Washington had to send one of their best relievers down to the minors, as they announced that left-hander PJ Poulin was optioned to Triple-A Rochester.
Washington Nationals pitcher PJ Poulin | Patrick Gorski-Imagn Images
On the surface, this is a strange move. Poulin has a 2.91 ERA across 23 total appearances. He's been used as an opener five times and he's had four save opportunities, as well. Poulin also has performed great in his last few outings, as he hasn't allowed an earned run across seven appearances.
So why would the Nationals decide to move him off their roster when they still need as many high-end arms as they can get in their bullpen? That's because they chose three other left-handers over the 29-year-old in this roster shuffle.
The first one is Richard Lovelady . Since he's out of options, Washington would have had to designate him for assignment if they wanted to clear space using his roster spot. And considering Lovelady has posted an ERA of 2.61 across his 19 appearances (two starts) while also going 3-for-3 in his save opportunities, the Nationals decided to hold onto him instead of risking losing him to waivers.
The other two are Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez. The latter just threw on Wednesday to secure a four-inning save against the Mets, so it would have been easy to send him back down to Rochester since he won't pitch again for a few days. However, it seems like Washington is rewarding the 26-year-old for how he's performed thus far, and they have chosen to keep him in the majors instead of optioning him to Triple-A. And as for Parker, with Miles Mikolas scheduled to pitch on Friday, it seems like he'll be used in a piggyback situation for that contest.
Washington Nationals manager Blake Butera talks with pitcher Clayton Beeter | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images
Coming into the season, Beeter was expected to be a high-leverage reliever and the closer for this team. That was the case early on , but with an ERA of 3.48 across his 10 outings, he didn't have the same results that he had a year ago and during spring training. Because of that, he was no longer the lone closer, as manager Blake Butera opted to use other arms in matchup situations.
Much of Beeter's issues this season have stemmed from his lack of control with eight walks across 10 1/3 innings pitched. That might have been caused by his forearm injury, so it will be interesting to see if he has better command after being activated off the IL.
Regardless, Beeter is one of the best pitchers the Nationals have. And with him healthy and back in the mix, hopefully he's able to provide a boost for this bullpen.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/nationals/onsi as Nationals Activate Clayton Beeter, Option One of Their Best Relievers to Triple-A .
