The Washington Nationals added some bullpen help by claiming left-hander Matt Thornton off waivers from the New York Yankees on Tuesday night. It was the second claim the Nationals had placed on Thornton in the last few days. MLB.com's Bill Ladson reported that the two teams could not work out a trade and rather than pulling him back, Yankees general manager Brian Cashman simply allowed the claim to go through.
Cashman may have allowed the claim as a money-saving roster move. Thornton still has over $1 million left on this year's salary plus a $3.5-million salary for 2015. Cashman replaced Thornton on the roster by calling up lefty Rich Hill from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Hill had not pitched in the Majors this year until Tuesday night and has only $300,000 left on this year's contract.
Thornton is 0-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 24.2 innings spread out over 46 appearances, holding hitters to a .247 batting average. He had a rough May (0-1, 7.71 ERA) but since then has pitched very well (0-2, 1.35), allowing no runs in 11 June appearances. Thornton reinforces an already strong Nationals bullpen which has an ERA of 2.95, third in the National League.