The Washington Nationals selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Jimmy Cordero and designated right-handed pitcher Shawn Kelley for assignment on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Cordero, 26, joins the Nationals for his first career Major League assignment. The hard-throwing right-hander is 4-1 with six saves and a 1.67 ERA (8 ER/43.0 IP) in 38 games for Triple-A Syracuse in 2018. He has struck out 47 batters and has not allowed a home run in 2018. Cordero joins the Nationals having not allowed an earned run in his last 15 games (16.0 IPO) dating to June 17.
A native of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, Cordero is in his second season in Washington's organization after being acquired by Washington in exchange for a player to be named from Philadelphia following the 2016 season. He has appeared in 264 Minor League games across seven professional seasons (2012-18), going 16-19 with a 4.05 ERA and 253 strikeouts along the way.