As the Washington Nationals currently sit on an off day and recover before kicking off a new series against the Minnesota Twins, it appears as if the club could possibly look a little bit different. After signing righty Shawn Dubin to a minor-league deal and sending lefty Cionel Perez packing, the team was not done making moves.
The Nationals went out and grabbed righty Zak Kent off waivers from the same Twins they are about to face off against, and he will fill the vacated 40-man roster spot for the Nationals. As a guy who actually appeared in games for the Twins this season, there is a chance he could get a quick turnaround revenge opportunity. As of now, it appears as if he will head down to AAA Rochester, as Orlando Ribalta had already been recalled by the Nationals to take the place of Perez on the active roster.
Kent is an interesting waiver wire flier to take as a guy who is already 28-years-old and one who has never really dominated at any level in his career. He was a 9th round pick by the Texas Rangers back in 2019 out of Virginia Military Institute, and broke into the majors last season with the Cleveland Guardians.
A local product, Kent has pitched in 14 games in the majors so far in his career and owns a 4.64 ERA and 1.59 WHIP through just 21.1 innings. Additionally, he has an 18:13 K:BB ratio, showing that he likely still needs some work on his control in order to become a viable reliever in the big leagues.
It does seem likely that he will get his chance to do just that at some point this season, as the Nationals have cycled through a lot of relievers and arms already this year with guys getting injured. Hopefully, Kent can get acclimated to things down in AAA Rochester rather than being thrust right into the flames of a tough situation in Washington.
As the Nationals await the returns of arms like Cole Henry and Clayton Beeter, Kent can provide some valuable organizational depth that could be called upon at a moment's notice. With Cionel Perez officially electing free agency as well, perhaps Kent is nothing more than a placeholder until another arm the team likes better pops up on the waiver wire.
What do you think of the Nationals claiming Zak Kent off waivers from the Twins? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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