The Nationals have designated righty Kyle Nicolas for assignment, the team announced Friday. His spot on the 40-man roster goes to newly acquired left-handed reliever Reiver Sanmartin, who just came over in a trade with the Giants.
Nicolas, 27, was acquired from the Orioles in early July after they’d designated him for assignment themselves. He’s pitched a nearly identical number of big league innings (105 1/3) to the man to whom he’s losing his roster spot (105 2/3) but with shakier recent results. Nicolas had a nice showing with the 2024 Pirates, but the former No. 61 overall draft pick (2020) has been rocked for 27 runs in 45 1/3 innings (5.