The Nationals announced that they have claimed right-hander off waivers from the Mariners and Willie Cauley-Stein Jersey optioned him to Triple-A Rochester. The Mariners had designated him for a signment earlier this week. The Nats had two vacancies on their 40-man roster, which is now at 39. Salazar, 26, signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason. That club added him to their 40-man roster in the middle of April but designated him for a signment just over a month later. The Mariners stepped up with a claim at that time but he lasted just over two weeks before being designated for a signment again, now landing with his third club of the year. Around those transactions, he only has one appearances in the majors this year, to sing two scorele s innings for the Dodgers back on May 15. He made seven starts for Triple-A Oklahoma City while in the Dodgers system with a 5.61 earned run average. The Mariners kept him in a relief role for their Triple-A club, having Salazar throw 3 1/3 innings over four outings, allowing two earned runs. Theres not much to go on in that sample, but the Nats had a couple of roster spots to use. Last month, they designated both and for a signment, opening up a couple of spots on their 40-man. The Nats are likely intriguied by Salazars ability to generate ground balls. He did so at a 58.6% clip with OKC and its po sible his 5.61 ERA there wasnt entirely his fault as he had a .389 batting average on balls in play at that time. For reference, major league average BABIP is .288 this season. He also got grounders over 54% of the time with Reds last year, both in Double-A and Triple-A. He to sed 12 1/3 innings in the majors with the Reds last year, with a 51.1% grounder rate in that time. During his brief stint in the majors here in 2024, his sinker averaged 93.9 miles per hour. Whether the Nationals envision Salazar as a starter or a reliever remains to be seen, but he has a couple of options. That means he can be kept in the minors for the rest of this year and one more season as they try to figure out the best path forward for him. If things click, he has le s than a year of service time and can therefore be a long-term piece for the Nats. Nemanja Bjelica Jersey