With the Washington Nationals already mired in another streak of consecutive days with a ton of games just as they did last month, the team will have to get creative with how they utilize their roster. After 17 games in 17 days last month, the Nationals are having to deal with 16 games in 16 days this month. There will have to be a lot of transactions over the coming days, in an effort to ensure the team has enough arms to make it through.
As I wrote at the tail end of yesterday's series finale recap of the team's embarrassing loss to the Cincinnati Reds, righty Zak Kent was optioned to AAA Rochester, but we had not yet known what the corresponding move was going to be. However, we know know that lefty Andrew Alvarez is headed to Washington to join the team tonight for the series opener against the Beltway rival Baltimore Orioles.
According to Mark Zuckerman, Alvarez is likely going to follow Zack Littell tonight as a bulk reliever, as we all know by now just how much Littell has struggled. Given the potency of the Orioles' lineup, which has struggled this year but has enough talent to break out at any moment, it would not be surprising if all they needed was just to face a guy like Littell, who has been brutal this season.
Nationals recall Andrew Alvarezhttps://t.co/FdL56OhOgr
— Nationals Communications (@NationalsComms) May 15, 2026
The Nationals are looking to march back towards .500, as they soiled their chance to even their record yesterday against the Reds. If you remember last year, the Nationals swept the Orioles in Baltimore, and ultimately the Orioles ended up making a series of firings after the whooping the Nationals gave to them.
However, the series this year figures to face a couple of flawed yet solid teams that have shown they can compete with some of the best teams if they get quality pitching. Alvarez should help the Nationals, as he performed well in his 1 appearance earlier this season against the San Francisco Giants. He also performed well last year, and even made team history in his MLB debut.
In that game, he threw 4.1 shutout innings, scattering 4 hits and striking out 5 batters while similarly working as a bulk reliever. The 26-year-old lefty has had subpar numbers with AAA Rochester this season, but his strikeout stuff has been very solid, with a 45:16 K:BB ratio in just 34.0 innings and 7 starts. Perhaps if Alvarez performs well tonight he gets a chance to stick around, but we will have to wait and see.
What do you think of the Nationals bringing up Andrew Alvarez from AAA to serve as a bulk reliever? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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