Nationals select the contract of Sean Nolin

By Doug Miller

Nationals

August 11, 2021, 10:31am

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The Washington Nationals selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Sean Nolin and optioned left-handed pitcher Sam Clay to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday. Additionally, the Nationals transferred right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg to the 60-day Injured List. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Nolin, 31, joins the Nationals after going 3-3 with a 3.80 ERA in 11 games (nine starts) with Triple-A Rochester. He struck out 52 batters and issued 15 walks in 47.1 innings pitched. He made one appearance with High-A Wilmington, tossing 1.0 inning with two strikeouts.

The left-handed Nolin spent the 2020 season with the Seibu Lions of the Japan Professional League, going 2-2 with a 4.08 ERA in eight games.

Nolin returns to the Major Leagues for the first time since 2015 when he went 1-2 with a 5.28 ERA in six games (six starts) with the Oakland Athletics. He also appeared in one game for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2014 after making his Major League debut with the Blue Jays in 2013.

Originally selected in the sixth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of San Jacinto (TX) College, Nolin is 41-29 with a 3.48 ERA in 166 games (128 starts) across nine Minor League seasons. He's recorded 678 strikeouts in 670.1 innings pitched along the way.

Clay, 28, went 0-4 with a 5.80 ERA in 46 games out of Washington's bullpen in his first Major League season in 2021.