Washington Nationals claim Toronto Blue Jays right-hander off of waivers
Photo credit: Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
The Washington Nationals have claimed right-handed reliever Paxton Schultz off of waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Nationals announced that they've claimed Blue Jays right-hander Paxton Schultz off of waivers.
we've claimed RHP Paxton Schultz off waivers
The Blue Jays designated Shultz for assignment recently when they signed Kazuma Okamoto to a four-year $60 million contract.
Schultz, 28, has a limited big league track record. He made his debut with the Blue Jays in 2025, tossing 24 2/3 innings over 13 appearances.
Paxton Schultz records his EIGHTH strikeout 😮 He ties the Major League record for most strikeouts by a reliever in their debut 👏
His 4.38 earned run average in that small sample wasn't especially impressive but his 25.5% strikeout rate and 7.3% walk rate were both better than average.
He averaged around 94 miles per hour with his four-seamer and sinker while also throwing a cutter, slider and changeup.
Schultz served in a multi-inning role for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons with fairly comparable results
He logged 49 frames over 25 Triple-A appearances last year with a 3.31 ERA. He struck out 23.6% of batters faced at that level with an 8.7% walk rate.
Paxton Schultz. Absolute filth. 😮💨 Schultz has 5 K's through 5 innings of work so far!
The Nationals had the worst bullpen in the majors last year. Their relief corps had a collective 5.59 ERA for the season, last in the majors by a decent amount.
Schultz gives them a fresh arm coming off a decent season. He still has a couple of options remaining, meaning he can be sent to Triple-A and back fairly regularly.
He also has less than a year of big league service time, meaning he's still years away from arbitration and even further from free agency.
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| POLL | ||
JANVIER 9 | 52 ANSWERS Washington Nationals claim Toronto Blue Jays right-hander off of waivers Do you think Paxton Schultz will break camp with the Washington Nationals? | ||
| Yes | 44 | 84.6 % |
| No | 4 | 7.7 % |
| Too early to tell | 4 | 7.7 % |
| List of polls | ||