- CSNwashington.com - Monday, March 24, 2014

JUPITER, Fla. — The Nationals reduced the competition for their final bullpen spot by one this morning, re-assigning Blake Treinen to minor-league camp.

Treinen had been among the biggest revelations of the spring, a right-hander who, in the words of manager Matt Williams, throws “an easy 97″ mph. Acquired from the Athletics as part of the Jan. 2013 three-team trade that sent Michael Morse to the Mariners, Treinen started 20 games at Double-A Harrisburg last season and posted a 3.64 ERA.

Treinen pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in his first big-league spring training, posting a 4.66 ERA in six appearances. There’s a chance the Nationals will stretch him out to start again now that he’s headed back to the minors (likely Triple-A Syracuse) but some in the organization also believe he could become a highly effective short reliever once he reaches the majors.

With Treinen out of the mix, the battle for the final spot in the Nationals’ bullpen comes down to right-handers Aaron Barrett, Ryan Mattheus (who missed most of camp with a chest injury and likely won’t be ready in time for Opening Day) and Tanner Roark (who is also competing for the No. 5 starter’s job), plus left-handers Xavier Cedeno and Michael Gonzalez.

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