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Nationals outright David Carpenter off 40-Man roster, Carpenter elects for free agency

The Washington Nationals acquired David Carpenter from the New York Yankees in June and almost immediately gave the veteran reliever a late-inning role, but a shoulder injury ended Carpenter's 2016 campaign and he was outrighted today.

By Patrick Reddington
Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Acquired from the New York Yankees in June, in exchange for minor league infielder Tony Renda, veteran right-hander David Carpenter impressed in a short stint in the Washington Nationals' bullpen before a shoulder injury shelved the five-year veteran.

In six innings pitched out of the Nats' bullpen, the 30-year-old reliever put up a 1.50 ERA and a .217/.280/.348 line against before the shoulder issue ended his season.

Nationals' GM Mike Rizzo, in a late-season interview on MLB Network Radio interview talked about the loss of reliever Craig Stammen and the injury to Carpenter as two developments that caused significant problems.

"Specifically the injuries in the bullpen were problematic because we didn't backfill those spots when a [Craig] Stammen and then later on when a [David] Carpenter went down and that type of thing," Rizzo explained.

"We relied on some young players in the back end of the bullpen at the back end of games and they weren't fully-developed and fully ready for the role."

Rebuilding the bullpen is a big issue for the Nationals this winter, but it appears Carpenter might not be part of the plans.

Carpenter was outrighted off the Nats' 40-Man roster today and elected for free agency:

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