WASHINGTON -- The Nationals added a potential bullpen arm when they acquired right-hander Jimmy Cordero from the Phillies on Wednesday morning for a player to be named. Cordero was designated for assignment last week by Philadelphia after a shoulder injury during Spring Training last season kept him out until July.
Before the injury, Cordero, who was the No. 25 prospect in the Phillies system as rated by MLBPipeline, was projected as a future back-end of the bullpen arm with a fastball that sits in the high 90s and has even hit 100 mph. Cordero, 25, owns a strong strikeout rate in his career, with 8.8 strikeouts per nine innings, a 2.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 3.80 career ERA over five years in the Minors.
Injuries limited Cordero to just 22 games with a 5.00 ERA in the Minors last season, mostly in Double-A and one appearance in Triple-A, but he has never appeared in the Majors. The Nationals added him to their 40-man roster right away anyway, giving them 38 players on their current roster.
The Phillies initially acquired Cordero from the Blue Jays as part of the deal that sent Ben Revere to Toronto at the 2015 non-waiver Trade Deadline. And now there is a chance they will become teammates in Washington.