Salazar optioned to Triple-A as Soroka joins rotation

The Nationals optioned Eduardo Salazar to Triple-A Rochester this morning, demoting the struggling reliever in order to clear a spot on the active roster for Michael Soroka in advance of his return from the injured list this afternoon.

With Soroka starting the series finale against the Guardians after missing the last five weeks with a right biceps strain, the Nats had to settle on a corresponding roster move among several possibilities. They could have optioned Brad Lord, who held Soroka’s spot in the rotation and performed well, but they chose instead to move the rookie right-hander back to the bullpen. They could have cut ties with another struggling reliever, Lucas Sims, but he’s got a $3 million guaranteed contract and is out of options.

In the end, the club made the simplest move available at this point and demoted Salazar to the minors. The right-hander made the Opening Day roster on the strength of a solid 2024 season and a strong spring training, but the 27-year-old struggled mightily from the get-go.

In 17 appearances, Salazar produced a 9.77 ERA and 2.234 WHIP. He gave up runs in 10 of those outings, including his last five. He also allowed eight of 10 inherited runners to score.

The final straw came during the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader. Entrusted with the top of the eighth and the Nationals trailing 6-1, Salazar issued a leadoff walk to Carlos Santana and eventually allowed him to score on two wild pitches. He then served a home run to Daniel Schneemann, blowing the game open.

Sims also endured through another nightmare relief outing the previous inning, also issuing a leadoff walk, also issuing a wild pitch and ultimately charged with three runs. That raised the 30-year-old’s ERA to 12.34 in 17 appearances, his WHIP now at 1.971 (which doesn’t include the six batters he has hit by pitch).

Unlike Salazar, though, Sims is out of options and can’t be sent to the minors without first clearing waivers. If they were to take that route and designated him for assignment, the Nationals would still owe Sims his full $3 million salary for the season, unless another club claimed him.

Lord now rejoins the bullpen, where he opened his rookie season with three appearances before making six starts in place of Soroka. The 25-year-old progressively got better over the last month and enjoyed back-to-back strong outings against the Phillies and Guardians, making a case to remain in the rotation.

The Nats, though, believe they have a greater need in their bullpen (which owns a major league-worst 7.16 ERA right now, so Lord heads back to a relief role for the immediate future.

“I think at this particular moment, we’ll probably push him back to the bullpen,” manager Davey Martinez said Tuesday night. “Kind of give him a breather. And then we’ll see what happens in the next couple weeks.”

The Nationals opted to slot Soroka back into the rotation today and give their other current starters an extra day of rest. The team is off Thursday, so Mitchell Parker will start Friday’s series opener against the Cardinals on six full days of rest, followed by Trevor Williams on Saturday and MacKenzie Gore on Sunday.