According to MLB.com, the Washington Nationals released SP John Patterson on Thursday, citing the right-hander's "lack of performance." This is a pretty surprising move by the Nationals, as Patterson was penciled in to be the team's number one starter. After a solid 2005, in which he posted a 3.13 ERA and pitching 198.1 innings, Patterson, a former #5 overall pick, missed significant time due to forearm soreness and made only 15 starts in the past two years. It seemed like Patterson was finally poised to make his return, which makes his release that much more shocking.
Patterson is coming off a spring start against Baltimore in which he have up six runs in four innings, but entered the game with a 1.80 ERA in two previous spring games. There must be something going on behind the scenes here, because you don't just cut your #1 starter after one poor outing. Granted, it's been a long road back for Patterson and his stuff probably isn't electric, but the Nats really don't have a lot of solid options in the rotation to replace him. Patterson just turned 30, so he's no spring chicken, but not over the hill either. It's doubtful that he would ever return to his 2005 form, but it's hard to believe that he has nothing to offer this pitching staff. The only explanation here is that Washington's patience just ran out, but one way or another, this is a surprisingly sudden move.
UPDATE: The Washington Post's Nationals blog has some inside scoop on the situation and spoke to Patterson after he got the news. Patterson basically feels that he wasn't progressing fast enough to satisfy management, which resulted in his unceremonious firing. Patterson was penciled in to start the second game of the season prior to being released.
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