Old Friends Carl Edwards Jr. and Steve Cishek Reunite in Washington

After a successful 13-game stint with the Washington Nationals’ AAA affiliate club, former Cub Carl Edwards Jr. was promoted to the majors. Edwards has yet to pitch consistently well enough to stick on a major-league roster since being traded from the Chicago Cubs to the San Diego Padres in 2019. As longtime fans know, the bullpen is an unforgiving place and one bad outing will result in a cut for marginal players.

In Washington, Edwards rejoins 2018-2019 Cubs teammate Steve Cishek and 2015-2017 Cubs coach Dave Martinez, who manages the Nationals.

Edwards’ first 2022 outing was a stinker. He was responsible for a blown save and loss against the New York Mets on May 10, allowing three runs on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts in 1.0 IP. He has allowed no runs and only one hit during his next two outings on May 12 and May 14.

Cishek has also had a poor start to the 2022 season. He has been a workhorse out of the pen, leading the National League with 16 pitching appearances, but has a 5.54 ERA (71 ERA+). This ERA does appear to be a product of bad luck, however, as it is well above his 3.43 FIP and 3.26 xFIP. I believe his performance can and will improve over time, especially as the veteran reliever owns a career ERA under 3 over 13 MLB seasons.

The Washington Nationals are currently 12-24, sitting in last place in the National League East Division. Their next game will be against the Miami Marlins tonight at 6:40 PM ET. Aaron Sanchez (2-2, 7.58 ERA in four starts) will face Cody Poteet (0-0, 0.55 ERA in eight appearances).

Featured Image: Waving flag with Washington Nationals professional team logo by Media Whalestock / Shutterstock.com.