The Nationals cleared a pair of 40-man roster spots, sending catcher Tres Barrera and reliever Francisco Pérez through waivers. After reinstating all players from the injured list as required, Washington’s 40-man roster count sits at 39.
Barrera, a former 6th-round draftee, has been a depth catcher in Washington. He’s appeared at the big league level in three of the last four years, tallying 162 plate appearances. He’s a career .231/.317/.315 hitter with a pair of home runs in 51 MLB games. The righty-swinging backstop posted a .254/.338/.424 line over 206 trips to the plate with Triple-A Rochester this year.
Pérez joined the organization last offseason off waivers from the Guardians. He pitched in 10 MLB games, allowing seven runs with nine walks and seven strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old spent most of the season in Rochester, appearing 45 times and soaking up 46 2/3 frames. He posted a 4.82 ERA for the Red Wings, striking out almost 30% of opponents but battling huge walk troubles. He’ll have the right to refuse the assignment and elect minor league free agency.
I remember seeing Barrera once during a DH game back in July of 2021. He hit a double that almost went out of the ballpark. Looked pretty good behind the plate. The Nats took 7-0 lead going into the bottom of the 3rd and the Phillies came back to win it 11-8 in 8 innings. Still one of the best games I’ve ever been to, along with 6/5/22 against LAA.
This is probably the most exciting news of the Nats offseason until we get a new owner…if we get one. Tough days to be a DC fan.