SEPTEMBER 25: The Nationals announced that Reetz has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A Rochester.
SEPTEMBER 23, 2:05PM: The Nationals have officially announced the selection of Romero’s contract. Hernandez has been placed on the paternity list, while catcher Jakson Reetz has been designated for assignment. Reetz made his MLB debut earlier this season, appearing in two games for Washington.
11:19AM: The Nationals are set to call up right-handed pitching prospect Jhon Romero, according to multiple reports from Colombian reporters (hat tip to The Athletic’s Maria Torres). Washington will create a 40-man roster spot for Romero with some forthcoming moves, and Torres reports that outfielder Yadiel Hernandez is heading for the paternity list.
Romero isn’t listed as a top-30 Nationals prospect by either Baseball America or MLB Pipeline, but the 26-year-old has posted some terrific numbers in 2021. In 47 2/3 innings with Double-A Harrisburg and 7 1/3 innings with Triple-A Rochester, Romero has a combined 2.62 ERA, 30.5% strikeout rate and 4.87% walk rate. This breakout performance has earned Romero his first taste of Major League action in his sixth pro season.
Originally an international signing for the Cubs back in 2015, Romero was dealt to Washington as the return for Brandon Kintzler at the July 2018 trade deadline. Romero had some interesting numbers over his time in Chicago’s organization, though his 2019 season with the Nationals’ A-ball affiliate was marred by injury, limiting him to only 13 2/3 innings.
Romero has pitched exclusively out of the bullpen during his career, and this late-season call-up will give the Nats a look at a pitcher who might end up factoring into their plans for 2022. The Nationals’ relief corps has been a weak link on the team for years, and while the front office will certainly look to bring in some more new faces during the offseason, internal options like Romero will get the opportunity to fill those bullpen holes from within.
FullMontilla
A Colombian baseball player? That seems interesting…
Jorge Alfaro, Donovan Donny Bats Solano, Oscar Mercado – any others in ML today?
TikTok Influencer
Who the hell are all these people? I never heard of one of these players and I watch baseball news every day
vtadave
Good for you tiktok guy.
TikTok Influencer
@vtadave. Didn’t know there was another Olivia Rodrigo fan in chat. I like Zoomer music too. GOOD FOR YOU YOU LOOK HAPPY AND HEALTHY!!!
FletcherFan66
So you watch baseball news but you don’t watch baseball?
BaseballBrian
The same could be said for TikTok losers, oops I mean “influencers.”
geg42
Gio Urshela
Julio Tehran
geg42
Oh and Jose Quintana
TikTok Influencer
As a Cubs fan you just brought back terrible memories of Jose “#2 starter” Quintana
Larmando
Emiliano fruto ! Im kidding
dclivejazz
Very interesting to hear about. I’ve been wondering if the Nats had anybody else to check out, their BP is so ragged.
It also has seemed strange that they keep Ryne Harper on the big league squad but barely use him. He started out with great numbers and lately has been getting rocked. If there’s something about him that keeps Davey from using him more, then give somebody else a shot instead.
Not Wes unseld
Davey is a great manager but his one flaw is he can’t manage a bullpen. its why Sean Doolittle got cooked over the 3 seasons he was in DC
BaseballBrian
His parents were drunk and spelled “John” wrong.
Armaments216
Maybe they just had baseball on the brian. Jhon is actually a common spelling in Columbia.
TikTok Influencer
Hnoj – common spelling of John in homeland
layventsky
This. The Spanish language doesn’t have a letter that makes a J sound (like in jar or Jeremy), so some Latin American dialects use JH to make that sound.
vtadave
Good for you tiktok guy.
Inside Out
No, not Reetz!!!! Ugh.
believeitornot
They have to do something about that bullpen. Voth, Suero and Rainey have all been terrible this year although Rainey has been much better very recently. I think the only bright spot has been Andres Machado.
HQMER
Only so many spots on the 40 man roster for people with unconventionally spelled names I guess. Gotta move one out to make room.