The Nationals returned Reifert to the Rays on Tuesday, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
A Rule 5 selection by the Nationals in December, Reifert flashed his swing-and-miss slider this spring in striking out nine batters over 6.1 innings. However, he also issued 12 walks and yielded 12 runs (11 earned) to earn a trip back to his previous organization. Reifert should begin the 2025 season at Triple-A Durham.
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Nationals' Evan Reifert: Dominant in spring outing
Rotowire
Reifert struck out the side in the third inning of Tuesday's Grapefruit League game against the Marlins.
The 25-year-old righty needed 16 pitches (nine strikes) to carve up Miami's 9-1-2 hitters, including Xavier Edwards. Reifert is in camp as a Rule 5 pick from the Rays organization, giving him a leg up on winning one of the final spots in the Nationals' bullpen if he shows he's ready to get big-league hitters out. Over 40.1 innings for Double-A Montgomery in 2024, Reifert posted a 2.01 ERA, 0.90 WHIP and 64:16 K:BB.
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Nationals' Evan Reifert: Taken in Rule 5 draft
Rotowire
The Nationals selected Reifert with the fifth pick in the Rule 5 draft Wednesday, JJ Cooper of Baseball America reports.
Reifert has been a known reliever prospect for a couple years, thanks largely to some very high strikeout rates in the lower levels. He missed most of 2023 with a shoulder injury but had a strong showing down the stretch last season at Double-A, logging a 1.96 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 65 strikeouts in 41.1 innings. Reifert will likely begin the year in a low-leverage role, but there's a chance for upward mobility in a shallow Nationals bullpen.
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Rays' Evan Reifert: Returns from IL
Rotowire
Double-A Montgomery reinstated Reifert (undisclosed) from its 7-day injured list Sunday. He struck out one and allowed one hit over a scoreless inning in Montgomery's 7-0 win over Biloxi.
Reifert was on the shelf for about a month with the unspecified injury. The right-hander has yet to allow a run over four appearances on the season and has struck out six batters while giving up two hits and zero walks over four innings.
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Rays' Evan Reifert: Back on shelf
Rotowire
Reifert (undisclosed) was placed on the 7-day injured list with Double-A Montgomery on April 16.
A shoulder injury limited Reifert to seven innings in 2023, and he's back on the shelf after making just three appearances for the Biscuits. Granted, prior to this latest injury, Reifert was dominant, striking out five batters while allowing one hit and zero walks in three frames. He has one of the better sliders among minor-league relievers and could eventually get high-leverage work in the majors, but the trips to the minor-league injured list starting to mount.
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Rays' Evan Reifert: Out with shoulder inflammation
Rotowire
Reifert is on the 7-day injured list at Double-A Montgomery with right shoulder inflammation, Sam Dykstra of MLB.com reports.
According to Dykstra's report, Reifert is not expected to endure a lengthy stay on the injured list. He is one of the more intriguing relievers in the minors, largely due to his 70-grade slider. Reifert struck out 87 batters in 49 innings across three levels of the minors plus the Arizona Fall League last year. If he can get healthy, he could make his big-league debut in the second half or in early 2024.
