Back on March 7, the Washington Nationals made the surprising move to release Jeremy Jeffress. He had appeared to be a viable candidate for Washington’s bullpen, especially in the wake of manager Dave Martinez‘s comments earlier that week. It felt as though there was more to the story than the Nationals’ explanation that the move was done for “personnel reasons.”
Jeffress himself added to the intrigue, claiming in a now-deleted tweet that his former agent “ruined his life” and that he was not what people were claiming he was. However, no other details were forthcoming.
Jeremy Jeffress provides hints to release by Washington Nationals
On Thursday, Jeffress broke his silence once more. In a pair of tweets, he claimed that teams are not making him offers because they feel he is a problem and that his agent has ruined his chances of being able to play this year.
It does seem strange that Jeffress has not been able to garner at least another minor league offer. He had a solid showing in 2020, posting a 1.54 ERA and a 0.943 WHiP in his 23.1 innings. Although his 4.09 FIP is not nearly as strong, he could still be a respectable part of a major league bullpen.
This is particularly the case given that there are a multitude of teams that could use help in the bullpen. Numerous teams that have an eye on contending in 2021 have issues amongst their relief corps, and adding a pitcher with the track record Jeffress possesses could make a difference.
Instead, he is still waiting for an offer that has not come. While the exact details of what led to his release have yet to be divulged, they have to be serious if he has not received another change. To Jeffress, that is the fault of his former agent for spreading incorrect information.
We still do not know why the Washington Nationals walked away from Jeremy Jeffress. According to the reliever, his former agent is to blame.