The Washington Nationals have a chance to get over .500 today for the first time since their opening series of the season against the Chicago Cubs. After a crazy game on Tuesday night when James Wood hit an insane inside-the-park grand slam, the Nationals offense did a lot of good things again on Wednesday night against the New York Mets.
Jacob Young now has hit more homers this season already than he had in his entire career coming in, and he is living proof about the power of this coaching staff versus the previous one under Davey Martinez. The Nationals offense is literally the best in the league at the moment, and that is still with them getting subpar production from multiple starting position players.
As the team continues to shuffle their roster, however, some decisions have been tougher to make than others. After the shocking demotion of Brady House earlier this week and the promotion of Dylan Crews, the Nationals have continued to make more moves. Joey Wiemer was also demoted as one of the corresponding moves, and Andres Chaparro was also recalled from AAA.
But the Nationals were not done, once again shaking up their bullpen by demoting a guy who had been on the roster the entire season so far in lefty PJ Poulin. Despite his 2.91 ERA, his whip is sitting at a 1.48, and his 4.14 FIP is a little bit more indicative of the pitcher he has been this season despite the sparkling ERA. His 16:14 K:BB ratio in 21.2 innings is nothing really to marvel at, and he will get a chance to get right down in AAA.
He was optioned as righty Clayton Beeter, who opened the season as a late-inning option for manager Blake Butera, is going to be activated off the 15-day Injured List ahead of Thursday's series finale. Beeter, who came over last season in the Amed Rosario swap with the New York Yankees, has been on the IL since late April, with Gus Varland and Richard Lovelady primarily closing games in his absence.
Beeter was able to overcome his right forearm soreness to recover enough and make his way back to the team's bullpen, which was big news after some feared much worse than that for him. Butera now gets another late-inning option, one with a 3.48 ERA and 1.258 WHIP so far this year, back at his disposal to help the Nationals close out games amidst their surprising start.
What are you expecting from Clayton Beeter in his return from the 15-day IL? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google