Nationals Release Kyle Nicolas

The Nationals released reliever Kyle Nicolas, according to the MLB.com transaction tracker. Washington designated him for assignment a week ago when they acquired Reiver Sanmartin from San Francisco.

Nicolas never pitched in a major league game with the Nats. Washington acquired the righty from the Orioles in early July, a trade most notable for being the first between the franchises after two decades of acrimony. They kept him on optional assignment to Triple-A Rochester for the rest of the season. Nicolas turned in a 3.27 ERA with a 29% strikeout rate for the Red Wings, but he walked a massive 18.7% of batters faced. Washington didn’t give him a look despite having one of the worst bullpens in the league.

A former Competitive Balance Round draftee out of Ball State, Nicolas has pitched parts of four MLB seasons between the Pirates and Reds. He’s posted an earned run average just under 5.00 across 105 1/3 career innings. Nicolas has huge stuff, sitting in the 98-99 mph range and sporting both a power slider and curveball. He’s never been able to harness it effectively, walking 14% of MLB opponents and more than 16% of batters faced at the Triple-A level.

Nicolas has never been outrighted in his career. Washington could have kept him in the farm system without a roster spot but elected to release him. That sometimes indicates a player is weighing overseas interest.