Astros Sign Carlos Perez, Amos Willingham To Minors Deals
The Astros released their list of non-roster Spring Training invitees yesterday, and two of the names heading to camp are catcher Carlos Perez and right-hander Amos Willingham, who signed minor league deals with Houston back in November.
Now entering his age-35 season, Perez will look to continue his tour of the AL West by winning a job on the Astros’ roster. Perez played 184 of his 278 career big league games with the Angels, and he has also suited up for the Rangers and Athletics during his five MLB seasons. Most of Perez’s time in the majors came during the 2015-18 seasons, as he didn’t resurface again in the Show until he played in 66 games with the A’s in 2023.
Perez was non-tendered after the season but returned to the A’s on a minor league deal for 2024, and he then moved onto the Cubs last offseason on another minor league pact, with neither agreement resulting in any MLB playing time. Over 859 career plate appearances in the majors, Perez has hit only .218/.265/.327. His all-time Triple-A numbers (.279/.353/.505 over 3055 PA) are far superior, with the caveat that Perez has played most of his Triple-A career in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League.
Yainer Diaz is Houston’s starting catcher but the backup role is now in flux since Victor Caratini signed with the Twins. Cesar Salazar is the top current choice as Diaz’s understudy and Perez is the only other catcher in the organization with any big league experience. Perez could push Salazar for a roster spot in Spring Training, though since Astros GM Dana Brown said earlier this month that the team was still on the lookout for backup catching help, both Salazar and Perez could be pushed down the depth chart.
Willingham made his MLB debut by pitching 24 1/3 innings over 18 appearances with the Nationals in 2023, but he tossed just a single inning in one game for Washington in 2024. The righty has a 7.11 ERA to show for his brief time in the bigs, but he has a 3.62 ERA and 23% strikeout rate to show for his 104 1/3 innings in Triple-A, albeit with a 10.27% walk rate that is on the high side. The Georgia native signed a minor league deal with the Braves last offseason that didn’t lead to a call-up, and Willingham actually spent most of his year at the Double-A level while also battling injuries.
Willingham made some changes to his pitching repertoire last year. After previously using a fastball-slider combo as his two primary pitches, he threw his cutter over half the time in 2025, with his 94.4mph fastball reduced to a 37.3% usage rate. He’ll head to Spring Training with the hopes that this revamped arsenal can lead to a job in the Astros’ bullpen, and Willingham has a minor league option remaining.
Players Entering Minor League Free Agency
Major League free agents became eligible to sign with other teams on Thursday, but the minor league free agent market has technically been open since season’s end. MLBTR has published several posts detailing players who had already elected to become minor free agents, but Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (multiple links) has the full account of all the minor league free agents that officially joined their big league counterparts on the open market on Thursday.
This list details only players who have played in the Major Leagues, and whose minor league free agency hasn’t already been covered on MLBTR in the last month.
Athletics: Aaron Brooks, Carlos Duran, CD Pelham, Bryan Lavastida, Nick Martini, Alejo Lopez
Braves: Ian Anderson, Davis Daniel, Enoli Paredes, Amos Willingham, Brian Moran, Jonathan Ornelas, Chandler Seagle, Matthew Batten, Conner Capel
Orioles: Jakson Reetz, Livan Soto, Thaddeus Ward
Red Sox: John Brebbia, Isaiah Campbell, Mark Kolozsvary, Chadwick Tromp, Seby Zavala, Trayce Thompson
Cubs: Yency Almonte, Zach Pop, Caleb Kilian, Austin Gomber, Forrest Wall, Billy Hamilton, Joe Ross, Tommy Romero, Antonio Santos, Tom Cosgrove, Dixon Machado, Nicky Lopez, Carlos Perez
White Sox: Elvis Peguero, Kyle Tyler, Vinny Capra, Chris Rodriguez, Caleb Freeman, Joe Perez, Owen White, Andre Lipcius
Reds: Tejay Antone, Alan Busenitz, Buck Farmer, Josh Staumont, P.J. Higgins, Eric Yang, Levi Jordan, Edwin Rios, Davis Wendzel, Evan Kravetz, Adam Plutko, Charlie Barnes, Alex Young
Guardians: Riley Pint, Tyler Naquin, Parker Mushinski
Rockies: Xzavion Curry, Sean Bouchard, Owen Miller, Karl Kauffmann,
Tigers: Kevin Newman, Brian Serven, Jordan Balazovic, Nick Margevicius, Blair Calvo
Astros: Jon Singleton, Joe Hudson, Kenedy Corona, Greg Jones, Matt Bowman, Luis Contreras, Tyler Ivey, John Rooney
Royals: John Gant, Spencer Turnbull, Bobby Dalbec, Diego Castillo, Geoff Hartlieb, Jordan Groshans, Nick Pratto, Isan Diaz, Stephen Nogosek, Nick Robertson, Joey Krehbiel, Noah Murdock, Ryan Hendrix
Angels: Shaun Anderson, Brandon Drury, Yolmer Sanchez, Ben Gamel, Evan White, Cavan Biggio, Logan Davidson, Travis Blankenhorn, Oscar Colas, Kelvin Caceres, Dakota Hudson, Chad Stevens, Angel Felipe, Jordan Holloway, Victor Gonzalez
Dodgers: Michael Grove, Luken Baker, Giovanny Gallegos, Kyle Funkhouser, Chris Okey, CJ Alexander, Zach Penrod
Marlins: Jack Winkler, Lane Ramsey
Brewers: Luis Urias, Oliver Dunn, Julian Merryweather, Daz Cameron, Drew Avans, Josh Maciejewski, Jared Oliva
Twins: Jose Miranda, Anthony Misiewicz, Jonah Bride, Thomas Hatch, Daniel Duarte, Connor Gillispie
Mets: Joey Meneses, Jose Azocar, Joe La Sorsa, Gilberto Celestino, Ty Adcock, Bryce Montes de Oca, Yacksel Rios, Oliver Ortega, Luis De Los Santos
Yankees: Kenta Maeda, Jeimer Candelario, Rob Brantly, Andrew Velazquez, Jose Rojas, Joel Kuhnel, Wilking Rodriguez
Phillies: Matt Manning, Adonis Medina, Lucas Sims, Jacob Waguespack, Phil Bickford, Rodolfo Castro, Oscar Mercado, Brewer Hicklen, Christian Arroyo, Payton Henry
Pirates: Brett Sullivan, Nick Solak, Nelson Velazquez, Beau Burrows, Ryder Ryan
Cardinals: Zach Plesac, Anthony Veneziano, Tyler Matzek, Zack Weiss, Drew Rom, Aaron Wilkerson
Padres: Eguy Rosario, Tim Locastro, Reiss Knehr, Nate Mondou
Giants: Sean Hjelle, Miguel Diaz, Max Stassi, Sam Huff, Cole Waites, Drew Ellis, Ethan Small
Mariners: Michael Fulmer, Casey Lawrence, Collin Snider, Jesse Hahn, Nick Anderson, Josh Fleming, Austin Shenton, Jacob Nottingham, Beau Taylor, Cade Marlowe, Jack Lopez, Michael Mariot, Hagen Danner
Rays: Cooper Hummel, Jonathan Hernandez, Jamie Westbrook, Tres Barrera
Rangers: Omar Narvaez, Cal Quantrill, Ty Blach, Alan Trejo, Joe Barlow, Cory Abbott, Michael Plassmeyer, Alex De Goti
Blue Jays: Eloy Jimenez, Buddy Kennedy, Joe Mantiply, Elieser Hernandez, Rene Pinto, Adam Kloffenstein
Nationals: Francisco Mejia, Juan Yepez, Joan Adon, CJ Stubbs, Parker Dunshee, Erick Mejia, Adrian Sampson, Delino DeShields
Braves Select Nathan Wiles, Release Amos Willingham
The Braves announced Tuesday that they’ve selected the contract of righty Nathan Wiles from Triple-A Gwinnett. Atlanta opened a 40-man roster spot by releasing righty Amos Willingham. Fellow right-hander Michael Petersen was optioned to Gwinnett to clear space on the active roster. The Braves acquired Wiles from the Rays in exchange for cash late in spring training. Willingham was placed on the minor league injured list earlier this month, and injured players cannot be placed on outright waivers — hence the decision to release him rather than try to outright him.
Wiles, 26, will give the Braves some length in the bullpen after Spencer Strider was unexpectedly placed back on the injured list yesterday following a hamstring injury. Atlanta has been planning to use an opener in tonight’s game, David O’Brien of The Athletic reports that’ll still be the case. However, since Wiles has been working as a starter in Gwinnett, he could give the Braves a much-needed long relief appearance. He’s stretched out fully; his last Triple-A start lasted six innings.
An eighth-round pick by Tampa Bay back in 2019, Wiles pitched to an ERA north of 5.00 in three partial seasons at the Triple-A level while in the Rays organization but has had a terrific start with the Stripers. He’s pitched 14 innings across three starts and held opponents to a lone earned run on nine hits and five walks with 15 strikeouts (27.8 K%, 9.3 BB%). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a hearty 52.9% clip.
The Braves have several rotation depth options already on the 40-man roster, but Strider’s injury was particularly ill-timed. All three of Hurston Waldrep, AJ Smith-Shawver and Davis Daniel made their starts in the past three days. Righty Zach Thompson and lefty Dylan Dodd are both on the 40-man roster and have experience starting in the majors, but both are working as relievers in 2025 and both pitched as recently as Sunday (two innings, in Thompson’s case). Wiles would’ve been in line to start today for Gwinnett, but he’ll instead join the Braves ahead of what seems likely to be his major league debut behind tonight’s opener.
Willingham, 26, was a waiver claim out of the Nationals organization back in January. He’s yet to pitch a big league inning for the Braves, his hometown club, but he did tally 25 1/3 innings with the Nats from 2023-24. The results weren’t pretty, as he was tagged for a bleak 7.11 earned run average in that time. However, Willingham has a solid minor league track record. He’s pitched to a 3.67 ERA in parts of six minor league seasons, including a 3.40 mark in 98 frames of Triple-A ball.
As a Georgia Tech product and a native of Rome, Ga., Willingham was surely thrilled to be claimed by the Braves back in the offseason. Today’s release ends his tenure with the club for at least the time being, though it’s common for injured players who released under similar circumstances to re-sign a minor league deal with their current organization. That doesn’t guarantee that Willingham will follow that path, as he can now talk with 29 other clubs in free agency, but there’s ample precedent a quick reunion.
Braves Claim Amos Willingham, Designate Allan Winans
The Braves have claimed right-hander Amos Willingham off waivers from the Nationals, per a team announcement. Righty Allan Winans was designated for assignment in a corresponding move. Washington had designated Willingham for assignment last week.
Willingham, 26, is a Georgia native and Georgia Tech product who’s pitched in the majors in each of the past two seasons with the Nats. He’s totaled only 25 1/3 innings and been torched for a 7.11 ERA in that tiny sample, but the 6’4″, 223-pound righty has enjoyed plenty of success in the upper minors. Willingham was unscored upon in the brief 10 2/3 innings he spent at the Double-A level and carries a combined 3.47 ERA in parts of two Triple-A seasons (93 1/3 innings). He’s punched out a solid 23.3% of his Triple-A opponents — albeit against a more problematic 10.8% walk rate.
The claim of Willingham adds a power arm to the Braves’ depth chart — one who still has a minor league option year remaining. Willingham has averaged 95.9 mph on his heater in the majors and ran it up to 98 mph in his lone big league outing this past season. Though his strikeout rate in Triple-A was roughly in line with the major league average, his 13.1% swinging-strike rate against minor league opponents was well north of MLB’s 11.1% average. He pairs that heater with a 90 mph cutter and 85 mph slider.
Winans, 29, has pitched in the majors in each of the past two seasons as well. He’s similar to Willingham — beyond their identical ALW initials — in that both have struggled in the big leagues but pitched well in Triple-A. Winans has an ugly 7.20 earned run average with a 20.9% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate in the majors. In parts of three Triple-A campaigns, however, he touts a 3.26 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 6.9% walk rate. That’s come in a sample of 256 innings, as Winans has operated primarily as a starting pitcher. Both pitchers also have one minor league option remaining.
The similarities broadly stop there. Winans sits just 90-91 with his four-seamer and 89-90 with his sinker. He pairs those modest fastballs with an upper-70s slider and a changeup that sits 82-83 mph. He’s generally gotten by in the minors with sub-par velocity thanks to strong command and a knack for inducing weak contact. Big league hitters haven’t made a lot of hard contact on average, but when they do square Winans up, the results haven’t been pretty. He’s yielded a 10% barrel rate and been tagged for an average of 1.80 home runs per nine innings pitched.
The Braves will have five days to look for a potential trade partner for Winans. At that point, they’d have to place him on outright waivers, which take an additional 48 hours to process.
Nationals Sign Jorge Lopez
The Nationals have signed right-hander Jorge Lopez, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. Lopez will receive $3MM in guaranteed money in the one-year contract, the New York Post’s Jon Heyman reports, plus some more money is available in incentives. The Nats have officially announced the signing, and also announced that right-hander Amos Willingham was designated for assignment to create roster space for Lopez.
Lopez, 32 next month, spent the first several years of his big league career as a below-average swingman. He made his big league debut with the Brewers back in 2015, and in parts of six seasons with Milwaukee, Kansas City, and Baltimore he posted a 6.04 ERA (76 ERA+) with a 5.15 FIP in 102 appearances, 58 of which were starts. After posting ERAs north of six in three consecutive seasons as a swingman from 2019 to 2021, the Orioles converted Lopez to short relief full-time ahead of the 2022 season.
From there, his career has taken a major step forward. His breakout began with a sterling 1.68 ERA in the first half while collecting 19 saves as their closer. He was traded to the Twins ahead of that summer’s trade deadline and faded somewhat down the stretch, but still finished the season with an excellent 2.54 ERA (155 ERA+) and 3.42 FIP in 71 innings of work. While his 10.4% walk rate left something to be desired, he combined it with a solid 24.2% strikeout rate and a fantastic 57.8% groundball rate, giving him strong peripherals that suggested he could have a future in the late innings.
Unfortunately, Lopez was unable to recreate that excellent 2022 season the following year. He took a massive step back in 2023 while spending time on the injured list for mental health reasons, and when he was on the mound he pitched to a 5.95 ERA in 59 innings of work. Nonetheless, Lopez managed to latch on with the Mets last year on a big league deal. His tenure in Queens was brief, as while he posted decent middle relief numbers (including a 3.76 ERA in 26 1/3 innings of work) he was designated for assignment in late May following a controversy regarding a post-game interview where he seemingly referred to the Mets as the “worst team” in the league, though in the aftermath of the incident it appeared that Lopez had actually referred to himself as the “worst teammate” in the league.
That rocky exit from the Mets, in conjunction with his difficult 2023 season, left Lopez to catch on with the Cubs on a minor league deal. He made the most of the opportunity, however, and looked every bit like the dominant late-inning arm he had been for the Orioles in 2022. In 26 2/3 innings of work for Chicago last year, Lopez posted an excellent 2.03 ERA. He struck out 29.2% of his opponents during that stretch with a walk rate of just 7.5%, and his 59.1% groundball rate was nothing short of elite. Taking that fantastic work on the north side together with his time in Queens paints a picture of Lopez as an intriguing, if somewhat risky, late-inning option as he posted a 2.89 ERA and 3.94 FIP in 53 innings of work with a 23% strikeout rate and 51% groundball rate.
Lopez is now headed to the Nationals, where he appears likely to be tasked with the closer role barring another external addition. That role had belonged to Kyle Finnegan in recent years, but the club non-tendered him back in November due to his rapidly escalating price in arbitration. Finnegan was projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for an $8.6MM salary in 2025, and Lopez is signing in D.C. for just over a third of that amount after posting better rate numbers than Finnegan did in 2024.
The addition of Lopez brings the Nationals’ payroll up to a projected $110MM for 2025 according to RosterResource. That’s $20MM below the club’s 2024 payroll, meaning they should have room for further upgrades to the roster should opportunities arise in trade or on the free agent market. That said, it’s already been a fairly busy winter for the Nationals. Lopez joins rotation additions Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka on the pitching staff, while Josh Bell and Nathaniel Lowe were brought in to bolster the club’s lineup. There’s still room for improvement, however, particularly in the bullpen and at third base.
As for Willingham, the right-hander has been and up-and-down reliever for the Nationals over the past two seasons. To this point in his career, he’s posted a 7.11 ERA in 25 1/3 innings of work at the major league level with just one appearance for Washington in 2024. He posted a decent 3.69 ERA for Triple-A Rochester last year, however, and it’s not impossible to imagine a rival club having some interest in Willingham as optionable relief depth. Going forward, the Nationals will have one week to either work out a trade involving the right-hander or try to put him through waivers. If he clears waivers unclaimed, the Nationals will have the opportunity to outright him to the minor leagues as a non-roster depth option.
Nationals Reinstate Jose A. Ferrer
The Nationals announced that left-hander Jose A. Ferrer has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list. Righty Amos Willingham was optioned to Triple-A to open an active roster spot. The Nats had two 40-man vacancies due to releasing infielder Nick Senzel and trading right Hunter Harvey to the Royals, so their count now climbs from 38 to 39.
Ferrer, 24, suffered a left lat strain during Spring Training and has spent the entire campaign on the IL until now. That has prevented him from building off last year’s major league debut. He tossed 34 innings for the Nats in 2023 with a 5.04 earned run average. His 17.6% strikeout rate was subpar but his 9.2% walk rate was around average. He got ground balls at a strong clip of 57.8% but also allowed four home runs, a rate of 18.2% per fly ball.
Advanced metrics thought he was a bit unlucky to have his ERA that high. Perhaps due to a relatively high .333 batting average on balls in play, his FIP was 4.55. SIERA, which normalizes home run rates, was even more bullish at 4.16.
Ferrer now slots into the club’s bullpen, giving them a second lefty alongside Robert Garcia. There should be plenty of opportunities for Washington relievers in the final few months of the season. They already traded Harvey and could potentially also flip Kyle Finnegan, Dylan Floro, Derek Law or Jacob Barnes by season’s end, as no one in that group is controllable beyond 2025.
That could give Ferrer a bit of runway to make up for lost time. He still has a couple of options and came into 2024 with less than a year of service, so he could be a long-term piece for the Nats if he performs well enough to continue holding a roster spot. He’s always been a ground ball guy in the minors but also with more punchouts than he showed in the majors last year. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has a 27% strikeout rate on the farm.
Nationals Promote Mitchell Parker
April 15: Washington officially recalled Parker to start tonight’s game. The Nats also brought up catcher Drew Millas from Triple-A Rochester and placed Keibert Ruiz on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to April 12, because of the flu. Washington also reinstated Nick Senzel from his season-opening IL stint and optioned infielder Trey Lipscomb.
April 14: The Nationals will call up left-hander Mitchell Parker on Monday to make his Major League debut. Grant Paulsen of 106.7FM Radio (X link) reported the news earlier today, and Nats manager Davey Martinez confirmed to reporters that Parker will start Washington’s game against the Dodgers. Right-hander Amos Willingham was optioned to Triple-A today, which makes room for Parker on the 26-man roster.
Parker was a fifth-round pick for the Nats in the 2020 draft, and was added to the team’s 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 draft so another club couldn’t select the 24-year-old. MLB Pipeline ranks Parker as the 21st-best prospect in Washington’s farm system, while Baseball America puts the southpaw 29th.
The strikeout potential has always been there for Parker, who has a 28.88 K% over his 329 2/3 career minor league innings. Parker’s top pitch is a 55-grade fastball that averages roughly 93mph with a ton of break, and he also has a plus curveball that works particularly well as a complement to his fastball. However, controlling either of these pitches or his other offerings has been Parker’s biggest challenge, as his 11.6% walk rate is on the high side. Parker has pitched in only four Triple-A games, with an underwhelming 7.53 ERA over those 14 1/3 innings with Rochester.
Some evaluators feel his ultimate future is in the bullpen, but Parker has started 72 of his 76 games in the minors, and the Nationals figure to at least give him a trial run as a starter before deciding on a possible turn to relief pitching. Facing the star-studded Dodgers lineup is quite a way to hit the ground running as a big leaguer, but Parker will get an opportunity as the Nats are still figuring out how to manage their rotation.
Josiah Gray was placed on the 15-day injured list last Tuesday, leaving MacKenzie Gore, Trevor Williams, Patrick Corbin, and Jake Irvin as the District’s starting four. It seems possible that Jackson Rutledge might’ve gotten the call ahead of Parker, but Rutledge might not be 100 percent after being hit by a comebacker earlier this week.
Nationals Release Rico Garcia
TODAY: Garcia is now a free agent after clearing release waivers, the Nationals announced.
SEPTEMBER 1: The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Travis Blankenhorn, a move that was reported on yesterday. They also recalled right-hander Amos Willingham, with he and Blankenhorn taking the two extra spots on the expanded roster. To make room on the 40-man for Blankenhorn, the club has requested unconditional release waivers on righty Rico Garcia.
Garcia, 29, began the year with the A’s on a minor league deal, getting selected to the major league club in May. He was designated for assignment in July, cleared waivers and elected free agency. He then signed a minor league deal with the Nats and was added to their roster in mid-July. Between the two clubs, he has an earned run average of 9.26 in 11 2/3 major league innings this year. But in 27 2/3 Triple-A innings, he has an ERA of 2.93, striking out 29.5% of hitters though also walking 17.2%. He was placed on the injured list July 30 due to biceps tendinitis.
Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported in early August that Garcia was headed to Florida to rehab. He hasn’t appeared in a rehab game yet but was perhaps nearing a return in the coming weeks. The Nats could have transferred him to the 60-day IL, but doing so would have effectively ended his season. Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers, so the Nats have placed him on release waivers instead.
Nationals Select Andrés Machado, Transfer Víctor Robles To 60-Day IL
The Nationals announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Andrés Machado, with righty Amos Willingham optioned to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding move. In order to open a spot on the 40-man roster for Machado, outfielder Víctor Robles was transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Machado, 30, has been with the Nats since 2021, though he was outrighted off their roster in the offseason. He got added back at the end of April but was clobbered for 16 earned runs in 17 innings, leading to an ERA of 8.47. Having burned all his option years, he was outrighted off their roster again in June and had the right to reject that assignment since it was his second, though he decided to accept and stay in the organization.
Since returning to Rochester, he has thrown 16 1/3 innings with a 4.96 ERA, but with strong peripherals. He’s stuck out 27.9% of batters faced while walking 4.4% of them. A .349 batting average on balls in play and 56.1% strand rate may have pushed some extra runs across, as his FIP is a much more palatable 2.98. That’ll seemingly get him another shot in the Nats bullpen, which is one of the worst in the league. Their collective 5.47 ERA is almost the worst in the majors, just barely better than Oakland’s 5.49. It’s also possible that Kyle Finnegan ends up traded in the next week, since he has garnered some interest.
As for Robles, he was placed on the 10-day IL on June 21 due to back spasms in the lumbar spine, his second IL stint for that issue this year. It seems the club doesn’t expect him back soon, as he’ll now be ineligible to return until mid-August. Andrew Golden of The Washington Post relayed this week that Robles is staying in D.C. for the foreseeable future to do rehab work around the big league club.
It’s another frustrating development for the former top prospect, who has always had speed and defense to offer but generally struggled at the plate. He had hit .233/.306/.359 in his career coming into this season but seemed to show positive strides here in 2023. He has a stronger line of .299/.385/.364 this year while significantly cutting his strikeouts, but the back spasms have limited that to just 36 games.
Robles will be eligible for one more pass through arbitration this offseason, though might not be able to get much of a raise beyond this year’s $2.325MM salary based on all his missed time. He might have been a trade candidate this summer if he were healthy but that’s unfortunately not the case. Players on the IL can be traded but it’s unlikely the interest is high right now, based on his uncertain health status.
Nationals Select Amos Willingham
5:05pm: The Nationals have now made this official, selecting Willingham and optioning right-hander Paolo Espino to Triple-A as the corresponding move.
1:20pm: The Nationals are planning to call up right-hander Amos Willingham, reports Jesse Dougherty of The Washington Post. The club has an open spot on their 40-man roster but will need a corresponding move to get Willingham onto the active roster.
Willingham, 24, has spent his entire professional career with the Nationals, who selected him in the 17th round of the 2019 draft. He made a brief professional debut in Low-A that year before the minor leagues were canceled by the pandemic in 2020. Since then, he has been climbing up the minor league ladder, working exclusively as a reliever and seemingly getting better at almost every stop.
He split 2021 between Single-A and High-A, tossing 60 1/3 innings with a 4.92 ERA, 21% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. He spent all of last year in High-A with a 3.41 ERA over 34 1/3 innings, striking out 27.6% of opponents while walking just 4.8%. He began this year at Double-A and carved up hitters at that level, throwing 10 2/3 scoreless innings with a 35% strikeout rate and 2.5% walk rate. That excellent showing got him bumped to Triple-A, where he finally slowed down a bit, posting a 3.46 ERA through 13 innings with a 20% strikeout rate and 14.5% walk rate.
Despite the relatively tepid Triple-A performance, Willingham has clearly impressed the Washington brass with his ascent in recent years. He’s started getting noticed outside the organization as well, with Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs ranking him the club’s #25 prospect earlier this month. Longenhagen writes that Willingham’s fastball is “now sitting 94-95 mph with big ride at the top of the zone” and that he can take a step forward if he improves his slider command.
The Nats will give Willingham a shot to see how his stuff plays against big league hitters while giving manager Dave Martinez a fresh arm for the bullpen. When the club starts tonight’s game in Seattle, it will be their 14th day in a row taking the field with two more scheduled against the Mariners before an off-day on Thursday.