Mitchell Parker and Andrew Alvarez were among the notable cuts in the fourth batch for the Washington Nationals, while an intriguing prospect is set to start on Saturday.
The Washington Nationals suffered their first loss in a week after falling 8-3 to the New York Mets on Friday night in Zack Littell's debut with the team, but they'll look to bounce back in a 12:05 PM tipoff in the fourth meeting against the Miami Marlins in spring training. And they will do so with an intriguing name set to take the mound.
Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reported on Friday that Nationals prospect Alex Clemmey is set to take the mound on Saturday, marking his first start on Saturday. The 20 year old is coming off a 2025 season where he finished 7-5 overall with a 3.57 ERA and 1.38 WHIP while throwing 136 strikeouts and 73 walks in 116.2 innings and 25 games. The bulk of his work came in A+ where he posted a 2..47 ERA and 7-4 record with 113 of his 136 coming during his 87.1 innings and 19 appearances.
It marks the latest shakeup for manager Blake Butera, who is capitalizing on the open day in the rotation to evaluate the 11th-best prospect in the Nationals' farm system, per MLB.com
The news also came on the same day that the Nationals underwent the fourth round of roster cuts.
A trio of left handed pitchers have been optioned to Triple A Rochester with Andrew Alvarez, Jake Eder and Mitchell Parker also being sent down.
After allowing a pair of runs and three hits along with three strikeouts in two innings during his first appearance in the Nationals' first spring training loss back on Feb. 25, Alvarez bounced back with eight strikeouts and just two hits allowed across seven innings during his last two outings. Eder posted two strikeouts in all three of his appearances, but he's also owns an earned run in each of his last two starts spanning 4.2 innings in what has been a shaky spring for the 27 year old. Parker last pitched on Feb. 27 in a 4-4 tie against the Astros after allowing two earned runs and four walks in just 1.2 innings.
They weren't the only pitchers on the move with right handed pitcher Trevor Gott one of four to be re-assigned to minor league camp.
Gott last pitched on March 10 against the Marlins where he allowed two earned runs in his lone inning. In all three appearances spanning exactly one inning, Gott is responsible for three earned runs and five hits, including one home run and one strikeout. He signed with the organization on a minor league contract back in January.
He joins infielder Seaver King, Trey Lipscomb and first baseman Matt Mervis.
King recorded a hit in each of his first four appearances in spring training, but that cooled off once the calendar turned to March as he sits jut 2-of-8 with a pair of strikeouts, though he did notch an RBI in the 7-4 win against the Mets back on March 5. Lipscomb, meanwhile, notched RBIs in wins against both the St. Louis Cardinals and Houston Astros this week, while also posting a two RBI game against the Mets on March 5.