The Nationals announced that reliever Paxton Schultz has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester. A corresponding active roster move has not yet been announced.
Schultz threw 48 pitches in three innings of relief against the Giants yesterday, so the club is likely sending him down to bring up a fresh arm. The 28-year-old has pitched eight innings across five appearances this year. He has recorded seven strikeouts against one walk, but he’s also surrendered two home runs and four earned runs total. His expected stats suggest he’s been lucky to post a 4.50 ERA, although it’s hard to draw conclusions given the small sample size. For what it’s worth, he posted a similar 4.38 ERA in 24 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays last year with strikeout and walk rates that were slightly better than average.
More to come.
True if big
They’re only optioning Schulz because the Starting Rotation can’t make it past 4 innings, so the bullpen is taxed.