Phillies trade Jimmy Cordero to Nationals
Cordero, a 25-year-old reliever, was acquired by the Phils in a trade that sent Ben Revere to Toronto in 2015. Armed with a high-velocity fastball, expectations were higher than most for Cordero, but a shoulder injury derailed his 2016 campaign. He returned in July and pitched poorly for Lehigh Valley (27 IP, 5.00 ERA, 19 K, 11 BB). His velocity was down, with the fastball clocking in the mid-90s, as opposed to the over-100-mph stuff he flashed in 2015 and previously.
The Phils designated Cordero for assignment a week ago to remove him from the 40-man roster.
INSTANT ANALYSIS: This was bound to happen. Cordero was on 10-day waivers after being designated, and the Nationals are deciding to take a chance that the fastball is still big.
As for the Phillies, Cordero was once expected to be a potential late-innings stud. Sadly that won’t happen here. But Cordero was expendable in an environment where prospects needed to be protected. He wasn’t expected to make the opening day roster, and considering his removal from the 40-man, he probably wasn’t expected to make the big leagues in 2016.
The Phils will get something back for him, and that something could be a lottery ticket or some cash to spend on the payroll. Either way, it just didn’t work out in the end.
