John Halama

The Nationals will call up John Halama to start Sunday's game against the Mets. Ryan Drese was supposed to start that game after pitching on Tuesday in Philadelphia, but the Tuesday game was postponed until Thursday because of rain. Drese will now pitch that make-up game, which will be the second game in Thursday's doubleheader.

We'd love to think that Halama will pitch well enough to take Ryan Drese's spot in the rotation, but we're not optimistic. He's pitched well in limited Triple-A action since the Nationals acquired him on August 5; he's given up one earned run in eight innings. But his sub-par performance with Boston earlier this year--in 30 games he had a 1-1 record and a 6.18 ERA--led the Red Sox to designate him for assignment on July 26. Can Halama shake off the troubles he had in Boston? Maybe, but let's not hold our breath. Hopefully he can be productive enough to pitch effectively out of the bullpen.

By the way, the Nationals sent down Brandon Watson to make room for Halama. So much for that great new bat in the outfield.