Washington Nationals: And you can close the book on Roenis Elias

After the Washington Nationals outrighted pitcher Roenis Elias, he elected to become a free agent. Ending his very short tenure with the team.

There were a lot of retreads brought in to audition for the 2019 Washington Nationals bullpen. Roenis Elias was not one of them. He was targeted, and gifted a job.

While many of the relievers proved ineffective and were jettisoned (Kyle Barraclough, Tony Sipp, Justin Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Dan Jennings, Jonny Venters, we could go on), Elias didn’t really have the opportunity to showcase his talents.

Acquired as part of a deadline deal with the Seattle Mariners, Elias was added to a stumbling and bumbling bullpen with hopes of adding a little stability.

He pitched in just four games.

Injuries happen. Had the injury Elias sustained in 2019 been to his shoulder, his arm, his hand, one would understand. No. The injury which kept him out for most of the season was a strained hamstring, sustained while he was busting down the first base line after being allowed to stay in a game and bat.

Elias did not appear in a game during the playoffs, because he didn’t even make the postseason roster.

Expected to be a contributor out of the 2020 Nationals bullpen, a left flexor strain kept him on the injured list for the entirety of the season.

The end of the road in Washington DC has now come for Roenis Elias. Recently outrighted, Elias chose to become a free agent, putting a close to his days with the Nationals after just four appearances.

Elias would have been arbitration eligible, under team control for the 2021 season. Instead, he will try to latch on with a different organization and the Nationals will lick their wounds on a trade gone bad.

Elias was acquired alongside Hunter Strickland at the deadline last year for a trio of minor leaguers. Strickland had an ERA of 5.14 during the regular season for the Nationals last year, and appeared in only two postseason games, giving up three home runs. He was released during spring training this year, prior to the original shutdown.

For now the final page of the Roenis Elias book as a Washington National has been written.