Melancon will join the Nationals and be available for duty on Sunday. He is making $9.65 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series. He saved an MLB-best 51 games in 53 opportunities for the Pirates last season and entered Saturday with 30 saves in 2016 to go along with a 1.51 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP.
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Once considered a possible successor to Mariano Rivera when he broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 2009, Melancon said during the All-Star break he knew a trade was possible, given his contract status.
“It’s just the teams change, they fluctuate depending on the wild-card standings”, Melancon said July 11.
We will have more coverage of this move in the coming days as more information becomes available. Manager Dusty Baker pulled him from Thursday’s 4-2 win over the Giants. The former Boston Red Sox right-hander has failed to pitch a full inning in each of his last three outings, allowing a total of seven runs over that span to boost his ERA to 4.41 on the season. Lefty Tony Watson will presumably inherit the ninth-inning job for the Pirates. The 25-year-old left-hander has an electric arm that approaches triple digits, and he has five more years of club control after this season.
Hearn, meanwhile, was a fifth-round pick in the 2015 draft.
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The Pirates also received Taylor Hearn, another left-handed pitcher who has struggled since joining the low-A Hagerstown Suns.
