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The Nationals designated Shairon Martis for assignment today, taking the right-hander off their 40-man roster two years after he pitched his way onto the Opening Day roster with an impressive spring.
The move clears room on the 40-man for Jerry Hairston Jr., whose contract became official today. Martis won five games early in 2009, but was sent to the minors in June of that season after he started nibbling around the plate too often and falling behind in counts. He was 8-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 27 games for Triple-A Syracuse last year, and seemed to have fallen out of favor in the organization.
He'll be placed on waivers, and can be outrighted to the minors if no team claims him. Martis is still only 23, and could still have some value if he gets better control of his stuff. But at this point, he looks like another pitcher in the Nationals' early group of prospects who didn't pan out.
