Reifert, who turns 26 in May, was originally drafted in the 30th Rd. by the Rangers out of North Iowa Area Community College in 2018 but did not sign. He came to the Brewers in the summer of 2020 as an NDFA and was traded to the Rays in 2021.
Command issues and health have plagued Reifert since his collegiate days – two things that have never scared off the Nats – with just one season below 4BB/9IP (2024, 3.7) and only one season above 50IP (2021, 60). While Reifert throws the de rigeur mid-90s heat, his bread-and-butter pitch is a “wipeout” slider that’s led to a K rate of 14.9 over four pro seasons and 146⅓ IP.
In the AAA phase, the Nats took RHSP Hyun-il Choi from the Dodgers. The South Korean native turns 25 in May and made seven starts at AA and 14 at AAA, posting a combined won-loss mark of 5-11 with an ERA of 4.92, a WHIP of 1.34 while walking 3.1 batters per nine and striking out a relatively low 8.0.
Longtime farmhand Matt Cronin was taken by the Mariners in the AA phase after splitting time between High-A and AA in the regular season and making eight appearances in the AFL this past fall. The 27-y.o. Florida native was taken in the 4th Rd. of the 2019 draft out of the Univ. of Arkansas and was added to the 40-man following the 2022 season. A herniated disc and surgery to repair it limited him to 14⅓ IP in ’23, which led to his being outrighted to AAA.
Lost in the excitement (well, compared to what we’re in for after this week) of the past two days, the Nats have made a few transactions:
SIGNED
켥 LHPs Connor Pilkington, Jousuet Martinez
켥 RHPs Carlos Romero, Patrick Weigel
The only name that you probably have seen before is the 17-y.o. (as of yesterday) Martinez, who, like all things D.R., is presumably a project. Veteran arms Pilkington and Weigel will help restock the Red Wings roster while Romero is an O.G. who spent ’24 at three levels.