Nationals reinstate Jose A. Ferrer

The Washington Nationals returned from rehabilitation assignment and reinstated left-handed pitcher Jose A. Ferrer from the 60-day Injured List and optioned right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham to Triple-A Rochester on Friday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Ferrer, 24, joins the active roster after appearing in eight rehab games between the FCL Nationals and Double-A Harrisburg. He pitched to a 2.08 ERA with nine strikeouts, four walks and a .111 opponents’ batting average (3-for-27). He missed the first portion of the season after suffering a left lat strain in Spring Training.

The hard-throwing reliever rose through Washington’s system thanks to a 2.94 ERA and 10.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in 99 Minor League outings from 2021 to 2023. He became a relied upon member of Washington’s bullpen in 2023 after making his Major League debut on July 1 at Philadelphia. Ferrer allowed just three extra-base hits to left-handed batters all season while going 3-0 with a 5.03 ERA in 39 games.

Ferrer enjoyed a breakout season in 2022, going 3-2 with 11 saves and a 2.48 ERA in 48 relief appearances between Single-A Fredericksburg, High-A Wilmington and Double-A Harrisburg. He recorded 78 strikeouts and just 11 walks in 65.1 innings between the three stops and was selected to participate in the 2022 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.

A native of Maimόn, Dominican Republic, Ferrer was signed by Washington as a non-drafted free agent on July 2, 2017.

Willingham, 25, appeared in one game for Washington this season. He tossed 1.0 inning of relief on July 14 at Milwaukee.