35 year old righty Livan Hernandez, who's already had two previous stints with the Nationals, will be returning for a third, according to William Ladson.
Livan Hernandez Returns To Washington On Minor League Deal
I just learned that the Nats have agreed to terms on a Minor League deal with RHP Livan Hernandez.
The Nationals have been seeking some veteran help for the back of their rotation, and were recently turned down by Braden Looper. Livan comes in as a familiar face, and being that he signed a minor league deal, there's no significant commitment should the team elect to go with someone else out of camp.
Hernandez is not quite the pitcher he was earlier in the decade, as his fastball has dropped into the mid-80s. His upside now is as a stable innings-eater who keeps his defense busy. Though his strikeout rate rebounded in 2009 after dropping perilously low in 2007 and 2008, it still only came in at five per nine innings, well below the league average.
Washington's rotation currently only has Jason Marquis and John Lannan penciled in. Scott Olsen is probable for the third slot, but there's an open competition for the final two, and neither Chien-Ming Wang nor Stephen Strasburg will be ready from the start. The team recently lost rotation favorite Ross Detwiler for several months following hip surgery.
Read more at Nationals blog Federal Baseball.
See More:
