Cory

Abbott

Abbott had a 2.40 ERA in 15 innings for los Tecos de los Dos Laredos in the Mexican Independent League, striking out 15 batters and walking eight in an extremely hitter-friendly environment. He’s the third player signed out of the Mexican Independent League this week, with the Rangers also signing Robert Dugger and the Dodgers signing Nick Senzel. Abbott figures to join the starting rotation for Triple-A Round Rock.

Abbott will head down to Triple-A Charlotte. The 28-year-old righty was released from the Mariners last week after he didn’t make the 40-man roster. He’ll continue develop at the minor league level where he had a career 5.51 ERA in 41 career starts at the Triple-A level.

Abbott failed to land a spot on Seattle’s season-opening roster after signing a minor league contract back in January. The 28-year-old righty will head to free agency in search of a new opportunity.

As is often the case at this time of year, there were no real surprises among this first group of cuts for the Mariners. Abbott appeared in just one Cactus League game, issuing three walks and giving up two earned runs in his lone inning of work. He’ll begin the season as extra bullpen depth for the M’s at Triple-A Tacoma.

Abbott’s versatility as either a starter or reliever is appealing to the Mariners, who figure to carry at least one swingman on their season-opening roster. The 28-year-old righty struggled this past season to an inflated 6.64 ERA, 1.70 WHIP and 40/19 K/BB ratio across 39 1/3 innings (22 appearances) for the Nationals. He’ll have a chance to compete for a spot in Seattle’s bullpen in spring training, but won’t necessarily make an impact for fantasy purposes.

Just the cleanup for a player DFA’d on Tuesday. The Nationals might seek to re-sign Abbott to a minor league deal. It’s not like he’d have a better chance of major league innings elsewhere.

Abbott gets caught up in Washington’s roster crunch ahead of Tuesday’s Rule 5 protection deadline and will likely wind up heading to free agency. The 28-year-old righty struggled this past season in 22 relief appearances for the Nationals.

The 27-year-old returns to the Nationals roster on Sunday. He has struggled mightily during his time in the majors, posting a 7.48 ERA across 16 appearances.

With Mason Thompson returning from the injured list on Sunday, the Nationals needed to clear a spot in their bullpen and unfortunately Abbott was the odd-man out this time around. The 27-year-old has posted a cringe-inducing 7.48 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and a 25/16 K/BB ratio over 27 2/3 innings with the Nats this season.

Abbott had a 5.71 ERA in nine starts for Rochester, and he’s allowed one run over four innings in two relief appearances for the Nationals this season. He’ll likely pitch in the middle innings for now, but he’ll remain a rotation fallback.