Nationals Claim Left-Handed Reliever Doug Slaten Off Waivers from Arizona

By MASN Staff

Nationals

March 29, 2010, 12:45pm

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The Washington Nationals today claimed left-handed reliever Doug Slaten off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Slaten, who stands 6-foot-5, is 3-5 with 13 holds and a 3.68 ERA in 126 career big league appearances with Arizona spanning four seasons (2006-2009). During his four-year big league career, Slaten has suffered just one blown save, stranded 77 percent of inherited baserunners (60 of 78) and limited left-handed batters to a .322 on-base mark while yielding just four home runs. Slaten's finest season came in 2007, when he posted seven holds en route to a 2.72 ERA in 61 appearances as the Diamondbacks claimed the NL West flag. The 29 year-old Slaten pitched in 11 games for Arizona in 2009, but spent the majority of the season with Reno of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, going 3-2 with nine saves and a 3.09 ERA in 39 appearances. While in the PCL, Slaten registered a healthy 2.7/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and was touched for just three home runs in 43.2 innings. Slaten was Arizona's 17th-round selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft out of Pierce College in Los Angeles.