Matt Belisle To Make 25-Man Washington Nationals Roster
One of the relievers that will be on the roster April 4 in Atlanta will be veteran right-hander Matt Belisle
With just a few spring training games left, the Washington Nationals and manager Dusty Baker have to make some tough decisions to decide who makes the Opening Day roster. Today, Baker told the media before this afternoon’s game against the Miami Marlins (cancelled due to rain) that veteran reliever Matt Belisle will be on the 25-man roster:
RHP Matt Belisle will be put on the 25-man roster, according to Dusty Baker. That means Belisle will not opt out of his contract. #Nats #MLB
— William Ladson (@ladsonbill24) March 28, 2016
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Belisle was invited to spring training as a non-roster invitee. The 35-year-old pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals last year and went 1-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 34 games. He has played 12 seasons in the Major Leagues and has posted a career ERA of 4.34 with the Colorado Rockies, Cincinnati Reds, and Cardinals. The right-hander does have experience playing under Baker back in 2008, but that was only for six games as a starter.
This spring, Belisle has a 4.26 ERA in six games. Over the course of 6.1 innings, he has given up three runs on four hits, struck out four batters, and walked one. However, all three runs and three of the four hits occurred against the Detroit Tigers back on March 20. He had an opt-out in his minor league deal that began yesterday that he could’ve exercised if he did not make the Opening Day roster.
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Belisle had his spring start late because of a calf injury, which caused him to not make his first relief appearance until March 13. Plus, he had bone chips taken out of his right elbow last October. While it is only spring training, the Nationals bullpen has had a lot of success. In the 24 games the team has played, the Nats’ bullpen ERA of 3.86 is the fifth best in baseball and the best in the National League.
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With Belisle now on the roster, the next tough bullpen decision for the Nats will be whether or not left-hander Sean Burnett makes the team. The 33-year-old left-hander has not given up a run in the eight games he has pitched in this spring and he has an opt-out in his minor league deal as well that will come up on April 1, which is when the Nats play the Twins in their first of two exhibition games at Nationals Park.