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According to several reports this afternoon the Washington Nationals claimed New York Yankees' lefty Matt Thornton off revocable waivers and have since reportedly worked out a deal to acquire the 37-year-old left-hander.
CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman was first with the news that the Washington Nationals claimed veteran left-hander Matt Thornton off revocable waivers from the New York Yankees:
#nats put in claim on matt thornton, and nats get him
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) August 5, 2014After claiming him, the Nationals had 48+ hours to work out a deal with the Yankees.
As MLBTraderumors.com's Jeff Todd noted in his write-up on the deal which was worked out this afternoon, the fact that the Nats were awarded the claim meant that no AL teams and all of the NL teams with worse records than the Nationals passed on the opportunity to claim the 37-year-old, 11-year veteran who is (0-3) this season with New York with a 2.55 ERA, a 2.73 FIP, six walks (2.19 BB/9) and 20 Ks (7.30 K/9) in 46 games and 24 ⅔ IP.
Heyman's sources then confirmed that the Nationals were acquiring Thornton, after making the claim:
"Thornton will beef up the strong Nats pen from the left side, but it'll be a substantial savings for the Yankees... Thornton has a $3.5-million salary for next year per his existing contract."
The CBSSports.com reporter noted that it wasn't known if the Nationals sent anything to the Yankees in return.
Matt Thornton has only allowed a run twice in last 28 appearances since 5/20. @JonHeymanCBS reporting Nats have claimed and been awarded him
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowden_ESPN) August 5, 2014• Several sources have since confirmed and commented on the reports:
Can confirm report by @JonHeymanCBS: #Nationals have acquired LH reliever Matt Thornton on waivers from #Yankees.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 5, 2014Thornton move saves #Yankees about $4.5M. Rest of ’14 salary, plus $3.5M in ’15. NYY working on other things, could redirect money.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 5, 2014The Nationals were rumored to have been after a left-hander at the Non-Waiver Trade Deadline last week with Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore reporting that the Nationals, "... made several offers to teams for a handful of relievers in the final minutes," before the Deadline, and, "[t]hey would have landed one," according to a source, "but they did not want to part with Class AAA Syracuse outfielder Steven Souza."
The Nationals added infielder Asdrubal Cabrera in a deal with Cleveland that sent IF Zach Walters to the Indians and now they've added the reliever they were rumored to be after to bolster their bullpen depth.
The #Nats have acquired LHP Matt Thornton on a waiver claim from the #Yankees: http://t.co/Pyg0YFGgEZ
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) August 5, 2014