Viera, FL – The Washington Nationals granted pitcher Chris Young his unconditional release Tuesday after informing the veteran he would not make the team's Opening Day roster.
Young, who received a non-roster invite from the Nationals last month, had an opt-out clause in his contract that he intended to exercise had he not broken camp with the club.
The 33-year-old went 1-0 with a 2.25 earned run average in four Grapefruit League starts with the Nationals, but the defending National League East champions already have their five-man rotation set with Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Dan Haren and Ross Detwiler.
Young posted a 4-9 record with a 4.15 ERA in 20 starts for the New York Mets in 2012 and owns a 53-43 mark with a 3.79 ERA over 159 career outings with Texas, San Diego and the Mets.
Receive your weekly recap of all the happenings around the world of sports.