The Diamondbacks outrighted Grace to their alternate training site Sunday.
Grace lost his spot on the 40-man roster when Arizona designated him for assignment Thursday, but since he went unclaimed off waivers, he'll remain in the organization's 60-man roster pool. Before being DFA'd, Grace made three relief appearances for the big club, giving up six runs over one inning.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: Designated for assignment
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Grace was designated for assignment by the Diamondbacks on Thursday.
Grace has allowed six runs without recording an out over his past two appearances, so this move isn't overly surprising. Joel Payamps was summoned from the team's alternate training site in a corresponding move.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: Can't find zone
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Grace (0-1) took the loss in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Giants. He failed to retire a batter, giving up three runs on one hit and two walks.
Grace made his second appearance since his contract was selected. He entered a tied game in the seventh inning but couldn't locate, as only six of his 14 pitches were strikes. The left-hander walked Brandon Crawford before giving up a double and a second walk and left with the bases loaded. Grace then watched Junior Guerra walk in two runs, and a third run score on a groundout. He's the lone left-hander in the bullpen after Andrew Chafin (finger) landed on the injured list.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: Contract selected by Arizona
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Grace had his contract selected by the Diamondbacks and was added to the major-league roster Wednesday.
Grace joined the Diamondbacks in the offseason as a non-roster invitee, and he'll now receive a chance with the big-league club. The veteran left-hander had a 2.87 ERA and 1.14 WHIP in 56 appearances for the Nationals in 2018, but he struggled last year with a 6.36 ERA.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: Headed to satellite camp
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Grace was assigned to the Diamondbacks' alternate camp Saturday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports.
Grace was a non-roster invitee to summer camp and will remain off the 40-man while working at the team's satellite camp at Salt River Flats. He's spent parts of five seasons in MLB for the Nationals, including a full season in 2019, when he logged a 6.32 ERA over 46.2 innings.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: In 60-man pool
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Grace will be a part of the Diamondbacks' 60-man summer camp.
Grace isn't on the 40-man roster, but the lefty was invited to Diamondbacks camp in January and will get the same opportunity upon the season's restart. The 31-year-old had a strong season in Washington in 2018, but was knocked around to the tune of a 6.36 ERA in 51 appearances last year and eventually lost his roster spot. He'll need to rebound to something closer to his career 4.29 ERA in order to solidify his spot for the shortened season.
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Diamondbacks' Matt Grace: Joins Diamondbacks' camp
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Grace signed with Arizona as a non-roster invitee Tuesday.
Grace spent parts of five seasons in the majors with the Nationals, recording a career 4.29 ERA. He wasn't at that level last season, stumbling to a 6.36 ERA in 46.2 innings for the Nats.
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Nationals' Matt Grace: Sent outright to Triple-A
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Grace was outrighted to Triple-A Fresno on Monday, Andersen Pickard of MLBDailyDish.com reports.
Grace was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Friday, and after going unclaimed on waivers, he'll head to Washington's Triple-A affiliate.
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Nationals' Matt Grace: Removed from 40-man roster
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Grace was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Friday.
Grace has endured a rough second half with a 7.42 ERA and 1.72 WHIP in 14 outings, so he'll lose his spot on the 40-man roster with Roenis Elias (hamstring) and Hunter Strickland (paternity) rejoining the team. Grace could remain in the organization if he goes unclaimed on waivers.
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Nationals' Matt Grace: Set to open Saturday
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Grace will serve as the Nationals' first-ever opener Saturday against the Dodgers, Jamal Collier of MLB.com reports.
Grace is making his first start since 2017 but does not figure to go more than two innings, which is the most he's gone all season. In 39 innings out of the bullpen in 2019, Grace is 0-2 with a 6.23 ERA and a 27:8 K:BB. Joe Ross will serve as the primary pitcher once Grace is removed from the game.
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Nationals' Matt Grace: Serves up walkoff blast
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Grace (0-2) took the loss against the Phillies on Sunday, giving up a walkoff solo home run to Maikel Franco in the ninth inning.
After he struck out Jay Bruce on three pitches to begin the inning, Nats manager Dave Martinez elected to leave the southpaw in to face Franco, with disastrous consequences. Grace now carries a 6.09 ERA and 22:8 K:BB through 34 innings on the season, with only four holds in 39 appearances.
Nationals' Matt Grace: Still looking for consistency
Rotowire
Grace heads into the second half with a 6.53 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 20:8 K:BB through 30.1 innings, and he's still looking for his first win or save while recording four holds in 35 appearances.
The 30-year-old southpaw appeared to be turning things around in mid-May, reeling off nine straight scoreless appearances between May 19 and June 6, but since then he's been tagged for runs in three of his last four outings. Grace is essentially the second LOOGY in the Nats bullpen behind Tony Sipp at this point, putting a severe limitation on his ability to produce fantasy value even if he were to regain some consistency,
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Nationals' Matt Grace: May struggles continue
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Grace coughed up four runs on four hits -- including two home runs -- and a walk in an inning of work during Friday's loss to the Cubs.
The Nats were already down 10-4 when Grace came out of the bullpen for the ninth inning, but he made sure they had no hope of coming back. The southpaw entered May with a 4.97 ERA, but things have gotten a lot worse since then -- he's been tagged for 12 runs and four homers in his last five appearances, leaving him with an 8.55 ERA and 1.85 WHIP through 20 innings on the year. Washington's bullpen as a whole has been awful in 2019, and wholesale changes could be coming, but Grace's current form makes him one of the more likely relievers to lose his spot.
Nationals' Matt Grace: Falling into specialist role
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Grace recorded one out in Friday's loss to the Marlins.
Entering the game with the bases loaded in the sixth inning, the southpaw plunked Curtis Granderson with his first pitch to bring home what proved to be the winning run, but he then got Neil Walker to line out to second base before he was lifted for right-hander Joe Ross. Grace has made 11 appearances already this season, but eight of them have been for less than an inning, and his limited role -- not to mention his 7.71 ERA and 1.71 WHIP in seven frames -- keeps him off the fantasy radar, even in formats where non-closing relievers can have value.
Grace struck out the only batter he faced in Thursday's win over the Mets to record his first hold of the season.
The southpaw has appeared in five games already, but four of those outings lasted less than an inning. Grace's 10.13 ERA and 2.63 WHIP are ugly, but his 4:1 K:BB in 2.2 frames suggests there's little cause for concern. His role in the Nats' bullpen, however, doesn't provide for much fantasy value.
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Nationals' Matt Grace: On course for bullpen role
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Grace struck out one in a perfect inning of relief during Friday's Grapefruit League game against the Mets.
The southpaw is coming off a strong 2018 campaign in which he posted a 2.87 ERA and 1.14 WHIP over 59.2 innings, and while Grace's spring ratios appear sketchy (6.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP), he hasn't allowed a homer in six frames with a 6:3 K:BB. The addition of veteran LOOGY Tony Sipp to the Nats' bullpen does potentially push Grace down into a lower-leverage role, but his spot on the big-league roster doesn't appear to be in any jeopardy.
