WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Erick Fedde had little chance of cracking the Nationals’ Opening Day roster. That he would start the season in Class AAA Syracuse was almost a foregone conclusion, one the Nationals made official Thursday afternoon when they optioned the right-hander to minor league camp.
Fedde threw two scoreless innings in relief Wednesday, but despite his brief bullpen experiment last season, the Nationals see Fedde as a starter, and he needs to get innings. With four days left in spring training, and no room for him in the big league rotation, the Nationals decided to send him back to the minors to allow him to build.
“He’s really good,” Nationals Manager Dave Martinez said. “Unfortunately we can only carry 25. He’s young. We just want to stretch him out and for him to continue to build on spring training. He had a really good spring training.”
Fedde made six appearances this spring, two starts, and threw 14 2/3 innings in which he allowed four earned runs. His velocity, which dipped to the low 90s before he eventually finished last season on the disabled list, jumped back into the mid-90s. His fastball showed the sinking life the Nationals loved from the day they drafted him. His change-up and slider both looked improved. After his last outing, the 25-year-old said, “I can see the guy I know I am,” a reference to his rejuvenation after a tough initial big league experience.
“The conversation was very honest,” Martinez said. “I told him to just go down there and knock the door down and continue to develop and be good.”
Martinez said he saw Fedde’s confidence grow this spring, as outing after outing demonstrated his ability to get major league hitters out. Fedde admitted that getting hit around in the majors was not easy for him. General Manager Mike Rizzo has said the Nationals didn’t help his cause by moving Fedde from the rotation to the bullpen and back in an effort to control his innings. This year, Fedde will start, and while the Nationals will be careful not to overwork him, they will not hold him to the same kind of innings limit they did last season.
A.J. Cole will almost certainly start the season in the fifth spot in the rotation. Jeremy Hellickson will challenge him and will likely get an opportunity to prove himself as soon as he catches up after his abbreviated spring training. But should injury strike, or should Cole and Hellickson struggle, Fedde will likely get his chance. The Nationals believe he projects to a reliable middle-of-the-rotation starter, and he is nearly ready to assume that position.
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