Matt Krook Elects Free Agency

The Nationals announced that left-hander Matt Krook, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, cleared outright waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Rochester. The southpaw has exercised his right to elect free agency.

Krook, 31, has been through this before. The Nats claimed him off waivers from the Athletics at the start of this month. About a week later, he was designated for assignment, cleared waivers and elected free agency. A few days after that, the Nats re-signed him, and the cycle has now completed a second time.

Perhaps the Nats will bring him back once more, though he can talk to all 29 clubs. It’s possible that Washington subtracts from its pitching staff ahead of the August 3 trade deadline. They are only two games out of a playoff spot at the moment but came into the season rebuilding and likely still have their eyes on the future. Foster Griffin is an impending free agent and having a great season, so the Nats should be tempted to cash him in for controllable guys. Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas and Trevor Williams are also impending free agents, though they won’t have nearly as much appeal as Griffin. A few trades could increase Washington’s need for fresh arms in the coming days, though that’s also true of other clubs around the league.

Krook doesn’t have a hefty big league résumé yet. This is his fourth big league season and he has suited up for four different teams but he has totaled just 16 2/3 innings pitched. He has allowed 25 earned runs in that time, giving him an unsightly 13.50 ERA.

He has gotten chances because he has better numbers in a larger sample of work in the minors. Dating back to the start of 2023, his first season as a full-time reliever, he has thrown 154 2/3 Triple-A frames with a 3.08 ERA. His 15.7% walk rate in that span is horrendous but his 31.7% strikeout rate is huge. He’ll see what kind of offers are out there as rosters around the league are sure to shuffle quite a bit in the near future.