Nationals Designate Jorge Lopez for Assignment After Interesting Tenure

The Washington Nationals are shaking things up in their bullpen again, as the team has announced they are designating veteran righty Jorge Lopez for assignment.

The 32-year-old signed a one-year, $3 million deal with the Nationals last offseason and joined the pen out of spring training. He made 26 appearances for the team, posting a 6.57 ERA and racking up a 6-0 record.

While his stats were certainly less than stellar, Talk Nats reported they are hearing the team's decision to DFA Lopez wasn't solely motivated by performance reasons. Instead, it appears this was primarily driven by his negative behavior on the field, which is something the often erratic pitcher has a long history of doing.

The right-hander was suspended for three games earlier this season after plunking Andrew McCutchen.

In his last outing against the Seattle Mariners, Lopez got into it with the home plate umpire after blowing a two-run lead and had to be calmed down by manager Dave Martinez.

It appears that Washington has decided Lopez's antics aren't weren't the trouble, and it's not the first time a team has parted ways with him for this reason either.

The New York Mets infamously DFA'd Lopez just last season after he threw his glove into the crowd while walking off the field after an ejection, and then proceeded to bad mouth the team.

Now, he'll be in search of his third MLB ball club in less than two seasons, while the Nationals have called up Eduardo Salazar to take his spot on the roster.

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