On Friday some were speculating that Major League Baseball would institute a transaction freeze as a part of its overall cessation of operations. That has not happened yet, as evidenced by the fact that the Washington Nationals released reliever Hunter Strickland yesterday. That was part of a bunch of moves the team made, mostly involving optioning minor leaguers and stuff.
I mention Strickland, though, because he’s kinda famous and writing a story about a mundane transaction involving a player a lot of people know makes me feel a tad normal for the five minutes it takes to write it. Almost as if baseball and sports and stuff are things that haven’t been thrust into suspended animation in response to an international pandemic.
Anyway, Strickland was a trade-deadline pickup for Washington last season. He appeared in 24 regular-season games but did not appear in the postseason for the World Series champs. He’s most known, of course, for plunking and brawling with ex-Nat Bryce Harper in 2018, back when Strickland played for the Giants. He did some time in Seattle before landing in Washington.
In 281 career games with the Giants, Mariners and Nationals, Strickland is 16-15 with a 3.16 ERA, 229 strikeouts, 87 walks and 21 saves.