Nationals Re-Sign Sean Nolin, Alberto Baldonado

The Nationals have re-signed left-handed pitchers Sean Nolin and Alberto Baldonado to minor league deals, reports The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty. Both pitchers saw game action at the Major League level this year for the Nats, though it’s easy to infer from the minor league nature of the deals that the results weren’t what either player was hoping for.

The 31-year-old Nolin is the more senior of the two, having bounced around quite a bit since his pro debut in 2010. In fact, dating back to Nolin’s first minor league action a decade ago, he has pitched just 58 innings at the Major League level, pitching overseas and on the Indie circuit sporadically throughout the past couple of years. Last offseason, the Nationals took a flier on the journeyman pitcher after a year abroad pitching for the Seibu Lions, assigning him to Triple-A where he posted serviceable numbers out of the rotation. Nolin was called up to the parent club in August and posted a 4.39 ERA in 26+ innings, albeit with troubling strikeout (16.3%) and walk rates (10.6%) as well as a suspension to show for his time.

Baldonado has had a similarly adventurous career, pitching in the Indie circuit as well as the Mexican League before making his Major League debut this past season for Washington. Like Nolin, Baldonado provided strong strikeout and run prevention numbers in Triple-A but ran into some difficulty after being promoted. Across 14 games, the 28-year-old rookie pitched 10+ innings of 8.44 ERA ball, showing slightly above average strikeout abilities (24.5% K rate) but offsetting that skill with seven walks and three home runs in limited action.