Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Nats Sign Pitcher

Late last night, the Washington Nationals signed right handed pitcher Brian Broderick to a minor league contract. Broderick will report to Double-A Harrisburg effective immediately.

Broderick was recently released by the St. Louis Cardinals Sunday. With the clubs Triple A affiliate, Broderick posted a 7.32 ERA in 78.2 innings of work. Broderick was originally a 21st round draft pick of the Cardinals in 2007.

An interesting little bit: the Nationals selected Broderick back in the 2010 Rule 5 Draft, but he then went back to the Cardinals organization. The Nationals must have seen something special in him then and have to believe that they can bring it out of him now.

Of course, and this is speculation, the Nationals could be bringing him in to create a trade package. The team could be adding depth to its farm system so they can put together a decent trade package without giving up a lot of young talent.

Is that the case? No...probably not. But, it does add a fun little wrinkle for you all to go crazy about.

Anyways, Broderick does have the potential to be a decent bullpen pitcher for the Nationals. While he held a 7.32 ERA and a 3-8 record as a starter this season, he was 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in seven appearances out of the bullpen last season.

Broderick will join the likes of Ryan Perry and Ryan Tatusko on the Senators pitching staff. The Nationals would be wise to give him an opportunity to pitch both as a starter and out of the bullpen to see where he fits best. As his numbers indicate, he could likely find himself in the bullpen as a reliever.

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Source: Rotoworld

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