Nationals trade RH Roark to Reds

The Washington Nationals traded starting pitcher Tanner Roark on Wednesday and acquired pitcher Tanner Rainey in return, both teams announced. Right-hander Roark, 32, had a 64-54 record and 3.59 ERA over six seasons with the Nationals. He struggled in 2018, finishing with nine wins and a National League-worst 15 losses and a 4.34 ERA. Fellow righty Rainey, 25, spent the majority of the 2018 season with Triple-A Louisville but did appear in eight games with the Reds. In Louisville, he posted a 7-2 record and three saves, along with a 2.65 ERA, in 44 games in relief. He struck out 65 batters but walked 35 in 51 innings. With the Reds, however, he pitched seven innings and surrendered 19 earned runs on 13 hits and 12 walks. He posted an 0-0 record and a 24.43 ERA. Roark became expendable, apparently, after the Nationals signed left-hander Patrick Corbin to a six-year, $140 million deal last week. Roark was expected to be awarded about $10 million in arbitration and become a free agent after the season. Yahoo! Sports reported earlier this week that the Nationals had "engaged in multiple discussions" regarding the availability of Roark. "When we signed Corbin, teams thought we had a little bit of a surplus, so they inquired about Roark, teams that looked favorably on a one-year guy who could help them," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said at the winter meetings Tuesday, per The Washington Post. "So we spoke to a couple teams about it, and [there is] nothing serious or imminent that's happening at this point." --Field Level Media