All major league clubs were required to reinstate all players who ended the season on the injured list to their 40-man rosters Thursday, a deadline that prompted the Nationals to cut ties with two healthy players.

The Nats announced that catcher Tres Barrera and reliever Francisco Pérez both cleared waivers and were outrighted to Triple-A Rochester. Barrera and Pérez must now decide whether to accept the assignment and remain with the organization or become free agents.

Those moves were necessary when the Nationals were required to activate six players who had been on the 60-day IL (Stephen Strasburg, Tanner Rainey, Carter Kieboom, Yadiel Hernandez, Jackson Tetreault and Evan Lee), bringing their 40-man roster total to 41.

The club could’ve removed only one player to get back down to the maximum of 40, but instead opted to remove both Barrera and Pérez, leaving one open slot for now as the offseason commences, with more decisions likely in the next week.

Tuesday is MLB’s deadline to add minor leaguers to the 40-man roster in order to protect them from being lost in the Rule 5 draft. Among this winter’s Rule 5-eligible prospects are outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa, third baseman Jake Alu, shortstop Jackson Cluff, catcher Drew Millas and right-handers Jake Irvin and Jackson Rutledge.

Tres Barrera and Francisco Pérez have cleared outright waivers and the Nationals have assigned their contracts outright to Triple-A Rochester.

Additionally, all 60-day Injured List players have been reinstated to the 40-man roster, which now stands at 39.

The Nationals returned from a five-game road trip and made a quick roster move before beginning a seven-game homestand tonight against the Pirates.

They recalled left-hander Sam Clay from Triple-A Rochester and optioned fellow southpaw Francisco Perez to Rochester, bringing in a fresh lefty arm for the bullpen. Perez’s demotion comes after he allowed three runs without recording an out in the ninth inning of yesterday’s finale against the Rangers, forcing manager Davey Martinez to call upon Tanner Rainey to close out the 6-4 win.

“Look, this game, as you know, we have to make tough decisions,” Martinez said of the move during his pregame session with the media. “But (Perez) had an outing yesterday, faced a couple of batters and got hit hard. So we just want him to go down and continue to get some work in. We brought Sam up, give him an opportunity. As you know, we're short on lefties in the bullpen. And we're always searching, we're always looking. So Sam has been pitching well down there. So we're gonna give him an opportunity to pitch up here. But that's not to say that we won't see Francisco again. He's gonna go down there and just continue to work.”

Clay went 1-2 with a 3.10 ERA, 20 strikeouts and seven walks in 21 relief appearances for Rochester. He tossed scoreless outings of relief in 17 of the 21 appearances with the Red Wings. The 29-year-old has given up five runs in four innings over five appearances with the Nats this season.

Perez, 24, posted a 7.27 ERA across 10 relief appearances for the Nats.

Reed Garrett got the call around midnight on Tuesday, having only just arrived in Scranton, Pa., with his Triple-A Rochester teammates a few hours earlier. The Nationals were calling him and fellow reliever Francisco Perez up, and because there weren’t any good flight options, his best bet was to rent a car and make the four-hour drive to Washington.

So it was that Garrett found himself behind the wheel, with Perez riding shotgun, on the road to D.C., then eventually into Tuesday night’s game against the Braves. It may have sounded like a stressful trip to some, but for the 29-year-old right-hander, it sure beat the travels he endured the last two seasons.

“Reflecting on it, it’s been a wild journey,” he said. “But it’s all been worth it.”

The journey began in Henrico, Va., where Garrett was born. It included life growing up in the Richmond area rooting for the Braves, though he believes the first major league game he ever attended was at RFK Stadium to see the Nationals.

A 16th round pick of the Rangers in 2014 out of Virginia Military Institute, Garrett would be selected by the Tigers in the 2019 Rule 5 draft and make his major league debut that season, only to be sent back to Texas after 13 disappointing appearances.

Jackson Tetreault found himself standing on the mound at Nationals Park at 7:06 p.m., a 26-year-old, seventh-round pick in the 2017 draft realizing a lifelong dream, starting a big league game. And when the right-hander proceeded to strike out Braves leadoff man Ronald Acuña Jr. on a high, 97-mph fastball, the impossible seemed possible, if only for a fleeting moment.

That moment indeed was fleeting, because the Acuña strikeout was followed by a no-doubt Dansby Swanson homer to left, which was followed by another run an inning later, which was followed by five more runs (including two more homers) the inning after that, leaving the Nats in a big hole they wouldn’t escape en route to a 10-4 loss.

"Early on, I just made sure I looked around, took it all in, said hi to the family, all that," Tetreault said. "But after that, it was good. Obviously not the result I was looking for, but I'm not going to shy away. I'm eager to get back out there and throw again. Just happy to get the first one under my belt. An awesome experience."

That Tetreault, who isn’t listed among the organization’s top prospects, found himself in this situation was more a reflection of the drastic pitching predicament the Nationals found themselves in than of his particular resume. After Stephen Strasburg went on the 15-day injured list with a stress reaction in his ribs and Josiah Gray had to be scratched from Monday night’s start after warming up just before a lengthy rain delay, the Nats simply needed somebody to start this game capable of throwing 90 or more pitches.

And with their higher-ranked prospects all off-schedule, the call was placed to Tetreault, who last started for Triple-A Rochester on Thursday and thus was good to go.

The Nationals formally placed Stephen Strasburg on the 15-day injured list today with a stress reaction of his second and third ribs, a diagnosis that doesn’t necessarily offer an optimistic or pessimistic outlook on the right-hander’s timetable to return but is related to the thoracic outlet surgery he had last summer and ensures he’ll be out for a not-insignificant period of time while letting this latest injury heal.

Strasburg is scheduled to fly to Southern California to be examined by specialist Neal ElAttrache, the noted orthopedist who just performed teammate Joe Ross’ second Tommy John surgery last week.

“This surgery, you just don’t know where it’s going to go,” Martinez said of pitchers who have attempted to return from thoracic outlet surgery. “I’ve seen a lot of guys go through this and not come out of it good right away. I’ve seen guys come out of it where they pitch for many years. We’re just going to have to wait. There’s no timeline right now for Stephen. He’s going to go see another specialist, and then we’ll know more.”

Strasburg had just completed a yearlong rehab process from last summer’s career-altering surgery, making his return to a big league mound Thursday night in Miami. Though he gave up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings, with a fastball velocity that averaged 90-91 mph, the 33-year-old was genuinely encouraged with how he felt physically and was prepared to make his next start in five days.

But during a standard bullpen session Saturday, Strasburg noted something didn’t feel right. And on Sunday, shortly after the Nationals announced him as their scheduled starter for tonight’s game against the Braves, he informed the club of this new bout of discomfort, leading to an MRI on Monday.

NEW YORK – Desperate for some fresh arms out of the bullpen after Monday night’s 13-6 trouncing at the hands of the Mets, the Nationals promoted Jordan Weems and Francisco Perez from Triple-A Rochester, moves that cost Andres Machado and Austin Voth their jobs.

Voth was designated for assignment, potentially ending the right-hander’s nine-year relationship with the organization. A fifth-round pick in the 2013 draft, he made his major league debut in 2018 and enjoyed his best run of success in 2019 but progressively struggled more and more since.

In 19 appearances this season, Voth compiled a gaudy 10.13 ERA and 2.143 WHIP. Over 92 total appearances since making his debut, he had a 5.70 ERA and 1.453 WHIP.

“I was more frustrated, because I sat down with him daily to try to figure it out,” manager Davey Martinez said. “We looked at all kinds of stuff, all kinds of numbers. We tried some things with him, and he was open to them. You saw some signs that maybe this was going to work, and unfortunately it didn’t. It’s tough. I really believe he was going to get through it, and it just didn’t happen.”

Voth, who was out of options, can either be claimed off waivers by another club or be traded. If he goes unclaimed, he’ll have the ability to decide whether to report to Rochester or sign a minor league contract with another organization.

NEW YORK – Monday night’s series opener was a miserable one for the Nationals, who got down 12-3 after four innings and never had a chance during what wound up a 13-6 loss to the Mets. If that was merely a one-off, with no lingering effects, it would be one thing. But the fear is that that lopsided loss will have a carryover effect, because of what it did to the Nats pitching staff.

When Erick Fedde was knocked out after only 1 1/3 innings, then Andres Machado and Austin Voth lasted only 1 1/3 inning each in relief, then Paolo Espino had to go three innings in mop-up duty before Josh Rogers pitched the final frame, the Nationals left themselves in a precarious pitching position for the rest of the series.

With that in mind, the club made a couple of roster moves today to bring in a couple of fresh arms. Right-hander Jordan Weems and left-hander Francisco Perez were called up from Triple-A Rochester and will be available out of the bullpen tonight. Each has some prior big league experience. To create roster space for them, the Nationals optioned Machado back to Rochester only three days after he was recalled and designated the long-struggling Voth for assignment, potentially ending his time in the organization.

The best thing the Nats could do to help avoid more problems tonight, though, is get a quality start out of Patrick Corbin. Corbin finally earned his first win of the season when he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings to the Rockies. He shut out the Mets over five innings earlier this month and held them to two runs in four innings on opening day.

The Nationals also will try to keep their quietly improving lineup producing tonight against Trevor Williams. Williams has faced them twice in relief this season, allowing two unearned runs in 4 2/3 innings. He’s making only his third overall start, having yet to exceed 65 pitches in total. Nelson Cruz, who had to leave Monday night's game after getting hit by a pitch on his left ankle, is not in the lineup but could be available off the bench.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Nationals are off today, with an opportunity to relax in Denver and contemplate all the positive developments that occurred during their weekend series triumph over the Giants before they open a three-game series Tuesday with the Rockies.

Let’s take a moment to contemplate some things as well, with a particular emphasis on the bullpen …

* Following Sunday’s 11-5 victory, the Nationals optioned relievers Sam Clay and Francisco Pérez to Triple-A Rochester. All major league clubs were required to reduce their active rosters from 28 to 26 by the end of the day, and the Nats chose to drop two left-handers in the process.

The moves weren’t necessarily surprising. Neither Clay nor Pérez made the opening day roster. Both were summoned more recently when other relievers went down. And neither did a whole lot to distinguish himself and force his way onto the roster for a longer stint.

Clay allowed five runs in four innings, giving up a homer, walking two and even hitting three batters along the way. Pérez was charged with only one run allowed over 4 1/3 innings, but he walked a whopping six of the 22 total batters he faced across five appearances.

Let’s keep the ball rolling and play some more baseball!

The Nationals and Diamondbacks will shortly take the field again on South Capitol Street for tonight’s nightcap after Washington won the first game of today’s split doubleheader 6-1.

Joan Adon, on normal rest, is hoping his third time's the charm as he takes the mound tonight. The right-handed rookie is 0-2 with a 10.00 ERA over his first two starts of the season. In nine innings, he’s given up 13 hits, 10 runs, three home runs and seven walks (to just eight strikeouts) while hitting one batter and throwing three wild pitches.

Manager Davey Martinez elected to stick with Adon in this spot in an attempt to not put too much pressure on the already taxed bullpen in today’s twinbill. Martinez only used four relievers in the opener, so he should have plenty of options for the nightcap. The Nats will need another starter this weekend, but they will address that later in the week.

Left-hander Francisco Pérez has been designated as the 29th man to give the ‘pen some help for tonight’s game. He is only available for the nightcap because a 29th player is only eligible for both games of a doubleheader if both teams agree to it. The Diamondbacks are using 29th man on tonight's starter, Tyler Gilbert, so they didn’t need it for the first game.

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