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By The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitchers Josh Randall and R.J. Sales from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for right-handed pitcher Kyle Finnegan on Thursday. Nationals Interim General Manager Mike DeBartolo made the announcement.
Randall, 22, is Detroit’s No. 15 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com and its No. 20 prospect, per Baseball America. He went 5-5 with a 3.92 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 17 starts between Single-A Lakeland and High-A West Michigan this season. He tossed 5.0 innings of one-hit, shutout ball with six strikeouts and zero walks in his High-A debut on July 27.
In seven starts dating to June 7, Randall went 4-1 with a 2.78 ERA (11 ER/35.2 IP) with 29 strikeouts against just eight walks. He struck out 15 batters and walked just two in four starts during the month of July (13.1 IP).
A third-round pick in the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of San Diego, Randall appeared in two games with Single-A Lakeland following the draft, posting a 4.50 ERA (2 ER/4.0 IP) with two strikeouts and zero walks.
Sales, 22, went 4-3 with a 2.71 ERA, 63 strikeouts, 17 walks and a .236 opponents’ batting average in 16 games (15 starts) for Single-A Lakeland in his first professional season this year. Over his last seven starts, Sales fanned 38 batters, walked just eight and pitched to a 2.48 ERA (8 ER/29.0 IP).
Sales was selected by Detroit in the 10th round of the 2024 First-Year Player Draft out of UNC-Wilmington.
