WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals released relief pitcher Hunter Strickland on Saturday.
Unconditionally releasing Strickland and David Hernandez were among a handful of moves made by the Nationals. They also optioned Jake Noll, Ben Braymer, Aaron Barrett and Kyle McGowin to Triple A and assigned Jacob Wilson, Brandon Snyder, Taylor Gushue, JB Shuck, Dakota Bacus, Bryan Bonnell and Wil Crowe to minor league camp.
Strickland was a trade-deadline pickup for Washington last season. The 31-year-old appeared in 24 regular-season games but none in the playoffs as the Nationals won the World Series.
Strickland before that was most known around Washington for plunking and brawling with ex-Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper in 2018. Strickland spent his first five major league seasons with San Francisco. He was with Seattle before the trade to Washington.
In 281 career games with the Giants, Mariners and Nationals, Strickland is 16-15 with a 3.16 ERA, 229 strikeouts, 87 walks and 21 saves.
MLB announced Thursday the season will be delayed at least two weeks from its scheduled start on March 26 because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Teams speculated the season might not start until sometime in May, necessitating a reduced schedule.