The Nationals announced a trio of roster moves, including the selection of Carl Edwards Jr.’s minor league contract to the active roster. To create space on the 26-man and 40-man rosters, the Nats optioned right-hander Andres Machado to Triple-A and moved right-hander Mason Thompson to the 60-day injured list.
Once Edwards tosses his first pitch for the Nats, it will mark eight MLB seasons for the right-hander, and six different big league teams. Edwards has seen only sporadic action from 2019-21, tossing 27 1/3 total innings for his five previous teams. In 2021, Edwards had an 11.12 ERA over 5 2/3 total innings with the Blue Jays and Braves (despite only tossing one-third of an inning for Atlanta, he was still awarded a World Series ring for his contribution to the championship season).
Edwards was a much more prominent member of another title team, tossing 36 regular-season innings and then 6 1/3 postseason innings for the Cubs in 2016. The righty posted some quality results out of Chicago’s bullpen from 2015-18 before struggling badly over the last three seasons.
Washington signed Edwards to a minor league deal during the offseason, and he has shown signs of a turn-around at Triple-A Rochester. Edwards has an 0.63 ERA, a 50% groundball rate, a 34% strikeout rate, and an eight percent walk rate over his 14 1/3 innings for the Red Wings. Considering how the Nationals bullpen has been quite shaky thus far, D.C. has nothing to lose in seeing if Edwards has gotten himself back on track.
Thompson was placed on the 10-day IL exactly one month ago due to right biceps tendinitis. He had been hoping to start throwing by the end of April, but with no further updates on his progress, it would seem like Thompson will need more time to recover. Mid-June will now be his earliest possible return date, as the 60-day IL window begins from his initial placement on the 10-day injured list.
Probably a better Nascar team than a baseball team now.
The string bean slinger is back!
Not sure exactly what happened to Carl but I remember him having some pretty electric stuff in his Cubbie days. Injuries, loss of control, or both?
Dunno about injuries but he walks a ton of guys
He doesn’t repeat his mechanics well and he isn’t balanced when throwing. Neither are impossible to fix, but are things that come with compromise in how you pitch.
He had an inauspicious debut with the Nats, giving up three runs in one inning, including a go-ahead run.
Sorry to ruin your Nationals debut, Carl. Better luck next time.