The Nationals recently signed reliever Zack Burdi to a minor league contract, according to his transactions log at MLB.com. He has been assigned to the team’s complex in Florida.
Burdi was released by the Diamondbacks in Spring Training. Arizona had claimed him off waivers from the Orioles last fall but elected not to keep him on the 40-man roster heading into the season. After passing through release waivers unclaimed, the 27-year-old will try to pitch his way back to the big league level with the Nats.
A first-round pick of the White Sox in 2016, Burdi was an elite college closer at the University of Louisville. The hope had been that he’d carry that success through the minors quickly and emerge as an immediate late-game weapon for the South Siders, but injuries have thrown him off course. The right-hander had run his fastball as high as 102 MPH in college, but he suffered a 2017 UCL tear that required Tommy John surgery and kept him out for all of 2018. Upon returning, Burdi’s velocity had fallen into the low-mid 90s. He’d rediscovered his arm speed by 2020 and made his MLB debut that year, but he’s struggled with both free passes and longballs over the past couple seasons.
Burdi owns a 7.79 ERA in 17 1/3 innings over 15 big league appearances with the White Sox and Orioles between 2020-21. He worked 28 2/3 innings of 6.59 ERA ball with those teams’ respective Triple-A affiliates last season, punching out an excellent 34.5% of batters faced but allowing nine home runs with an elevated 13% walk rate. He’ll look to bounce back from that rough 2021 showing and carve out a spot in a Washington bullpen that has posted below-average marks in both ERA (3.94) and SIERA (3.62) over the season’s first few weeks.
*RICHMOND ROOSTERS
How about the Rockaway Rumble Ponies?
He really should be an Oriole, a Blue Jay or a Cardinal.
That one almost flew over my head
I’m just winging it here.
Burdi induces a lot of fowl balls
That’s what she said…
Jon jay retired
A 7.79 ERA isn’t pretty, but maybe he can improve with the right pigeon coach.
The poor Burdi boys can really throw some nasty stuff. Too bad they can’t do it without a wing flying apart.
Let osprey that he can stay healthy.
Fink is on a roll!!
Thanks, Kruk! It’s just for a lark.
The Nats might be bad, but the Braves are gearing up to be the worst team in the East. They have yet to win one series nor win 2 games in a row. This is not a fluke. The team from the first half of last season was exactly the same.
Oooof. And Morton did not look good. I don’t know if they should send him for Lasik or just put him out to pasture.
Burdi would probably walker fewer if he could prevent his shoulders from flying open during his delivery
And his fastball might play up if he could parrot with a good secondary pitch.
He simply hasn’t lived up to his sky-high expectations. I wonder what the caws could be…
I dunno. I guess he just doesn’t throw enough shrikes.
I know he had to leave the nest but I’m not sure why he wanted to take his talons to DC.
His numbers didn’t give him much choice. Even DC might not have signed him if he weren’t so cheep.