Nationals News: Eric Fornataro Assigned To Syracuse
By Ricky Keeler
On Monday afternoon, the Washington Nationals decided to assign right-handed relief pitcher Eric Fornataro to Triple-A Syracuse after the pitcher cleared waivers. Washington decided to designate Fornataro for assignment last week in order to make the signing of Casey Janssen official on the 40-man roster:
The #Nats have assigned RHP Eric Fornataro outright to Triple-A Syracuse. Fornataro has received an invitation to MLB Spring Training.
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) February 9, 2015
This November, Washington claimed the 27-year-old reliever off of waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals. He made eight appearances with St. Louis last season, pitching to a 4.66 ERA in 9.2 innings of relief. That being said, he only appeared with St. Louis from April 21 to June 28.
When you look at this move, it is interesting to see the Nationals give an invite to Spring Training for Fornataro. It gives him a chance to show Mike Rizzo and company what he can do for the team if an injury occurs, even though the small sample size would suggest otherwise.
That being said, he was a good reliever for the Cardinals’ triple-A team last season, the Memphis Redbirds. In 44 appearances, he went 4-5 with a 2.57 ERA. Over the last two seasons in AAA, he has a 4.28 ERA and six strikeouts per nine innings pitched. He had experience as a closer as well, converting 15 of his 19 save opportunities.
Before Fornataro made that June 28 appearance against the Dodgers, he had a fantastic month for Memphis. In 12 June appearances out of the bullpen, he went 0-1 with a 0.87 ERA. When he got back in July, he didn’t miss a beat either, pitching to a 0.48 ERA in 12 appearances.
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According to Fangraphs, Fornataro is a three-pitch reliever, but he relies mainly on his fastball. Last season, with the Cardinals, he went to his heater 81% of the time that averaged close to 93 miles per hour. He also features a curveball and a changeup in his arsenal, but he rarely goes to the changeup (1.3%).
Even if Fornataro doesn’t make it to the Majors out of Spring Training in Viera, Florida, he should help the Syracuse Chiefs out of the bullpen. Last season, the Chiefs’ team ERA was 3.63, which was fifth in the International League. In fact, his 15 saves are five more than Syracuse’s leading closer from a year ago (Rafael Martin with ten).
With Eric Fornataro getting this second opportunity from the team after nobody claimed him on waivers, how is he going to respond to having that chance to show his new team what he has after they claimed him in November? We are going to find out.