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Nationals notebook Date published: 6/21/2007 By TODD JACOBSON BY TODD JACOBSON WASHINGTON--The Nationals would have liked to tuck Levale Speigner away in the deep recesses of the bullpen for an entire season, but a rash of injuries forced the right-hander into the starting rotation last month. There, the Nationals could hide him no longer, and Washington's 2-month experiment with the Rule 5 draft pick ended yesterday when he was designated for assignment. Speigner had to remain on Washington's 25-man roster this season. Now, he must clear waivers before being offered back to his former team, the Minnesota Twins, for $25,000. Speigner was only part of a flurry of transactions before yesterday's game. Outfielder Brandon Watson and right-handers Luis Ayala and Chris Schroder were added to Washington's 25-man roster and right-hander Winston Abreu was also designated for assignment yesterday. "We gave Levale an opportunity," Nationals general manager Jim Bowden said. "The results were what they were." Speigner was 2-3 with an 8.77 ERA in 19 games, but he struggled mightily when he became a starter in May. In six starts, he was 1-3 with an 11.79 ERA. The lone highlight was a seven-inning, two-hit masterpiece against the Twins June 9, but it wasn't enough to keep him around. Bowden spoke with Minnesota about a trade that would enable the Nats to send Speigner to the minors yesterday, but would not comment on the progress of any deal. "It wasn't easy, but we got to the conclusion that we could no longer hide him anymore," Nationals manager Manny Acta said, "and also looking at the future, we saw him more as a middle [reliever] and we thought that we have some guys in line down there that could probably fill that role." Bolstering the bullpenAyala hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005 and is still only 15 months removed from ligament replacement surgery on his right elbow, so the Nationals will take it slowly with their former set-up man. But he'll still be an upgrade to Washington's bullpen, Acta said. Before he was injured pitching for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic last year, Ayala had a 2.75 ERA in 214 major league appearances. "It's a big addition," Acta said. "We're going to have to be very careful, but still you have to be able to realize that having Ayala, it's a little bit better than having some guys with no experience whatsoever in the bullpen."
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