Nationals select contract of OF Blankenhorn, recall RHP Willingham

The Washington Nationals selected the contract of outfielder Travis Blankenhorn and recalled right-handed pitcher Amos Willingham from Triple-A Rochester on Friday. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Nationals have requested unconditional release waivers on right-handed pitcher Rico Garcia. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Blankenhorn, 27, joins Washington after leading the organization in OPS (.877) and slugging percentage (.517) in 108 games with Triple-A Rochester. He ranked among Nationals Minor Leaguers in home runs (2nd, 23), RBI (2nd, 75), extra-base hits (2nd, 52), doubles (2nd, 27), runs (2nd, 67), total bases (T2nd, 203), on-base percentage (4th, .360), hits (4th, 103), walks (7th, 51) and batting average (8th, .262).

The left-handed hitting outfielder hit 293/.376/.671 with five doubles, one triple, eight home runs, 18 RBI, nine walks and 18 runs scored in his last 21 games before the promotion.

Blankenhorn appeared in 26 games over three Major League seasons between the Minnesota Twins and New York Mets from 2020-22. He is 5-for-29 (.172) with three doubles, a home run, four RBI, a walk and four runs scored.

Willingham, 25, joins Washington for the third time this season. He pitched to a 2.89 ERA (3 ER/9.1 IP) in six games since returning to Rochester on August 11. In those six games, he struck out nine and walked just three.

Willingham has pitched in 13 games for the Nationals this season, going 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 14.0 innings.

Garcia, 29, pitched to a 12.00 ERA (4 ER/3.0 IP) in three games for the Nationals.