Since Mike Rizzo hangs out behind the scrap heap, I’m thinking a Fernando Rodney reunion isn’t totally out of the question.
When I say the Washington Nationals should sign Fernando Rodney and put him on the active roster immediately, I am only half joking.
The Fernando Rodney Experience landed in DC last year and together the Nationals and the eccentric pitcher rode the magic carpet ride to the World Series. A ring which had eluded Rodney for seventeen years of big league pitching was now firmly on his finger. At the age of 43 one would think he’d hang up the cleats.
Didn’t happen.
Rodney went unsigned in the offseason before latching on with the Independent League’s Sugar Land Skeeters. Rodney was there long enough to throw one inning before the Houston Astros came a calling. They signed him to a minor league contract and assigned him to the alternate training facility.
Well, that didn’t work out.
The Astros released Fernando Rodney. He had been at their alternate training site on a minor league deal.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) September 3, 2020
After being kicked to the curb, Rodney is now looking for a new job, and I believe the Nationals could be a match.
Sitting with a record of 12-22 with a firm grip on last place in the National League East, the Nationals need to start thinking about 2021.
With Austin Voth averaging four innings a start, Erick Fedde a shade under five innings each time out, and Anibal Sanchez exactly five innings, the bullpen is logging a lot of pitches on some already tired arms.
Several bullpen members are being overworked, leading to ineffectiveness, and potentially arm injuries down the road. I think Wander Suero has pitched in every other game, since the start of last year. Seriously though, four relievers have each pitched in 14 games this season, and only one of them, Tanner Rainey, has been effective.
Rather than wearing down guys who will be a part of the future, bring in Rodney and put some miles on his arm. He can handle it. Plus, who doesn’t want to see a few arrows being shot through the night sky?
After recent additions like Josh Harrison and Brock Holt, we know GM Mike Rizzo is sifting through the waiver wires at two o’clock each morning.
It’s time to bring some fun back to 2020, initiate the Fernando Rodney reunion.