Phillies trade Cordero to Washington, cut Buchanan

The Phillies traded Jimmy Cordero, a hard throwing reliever who was removed last week from the 40-man roster, to Washington on Wednesday for a player to be named later or cash considerations.

The team also released David Buchanan, a 27-year-old righthander who spent two seasons with the Phillies. Buchanan went 8-17 with a 5.01 ERA in that span.

Cordero, 25, missed the first three months of the minor-league season with a shoulder injury. The righthander allowed 15 earned runs in 27 innings, struck out 19 and walked 10. Cordero reached triple-A in September but was placed on the disabled list with a strained shoulder.

The Phillies acquired Cordero from Toronto at the 2015 trade deadline as part of the return for Ben Revere. Cordero has a fastball that can reach 100 mph, but his shoulder woes sapped his velocity.

The other hard throwing pitcher acquired from Toronto - righthander Alberto Tirado - was added last week to the 40-man roster. The righthander struck out 102 batters last season in 64.2 innings. He pairs a 100 mph fastball with a devastating slider. Tirado, who turns 22 in December, will likely begin the season in double A. He has a chance to be the team's future closer.

"Obviously a year ago at this time we were pretty high on Jimmy. So much so that we added him to the roster. And his year was not as productive as we had hoped or as he had hoped," general manager Matt Klentak said last week. "It becomes a numbers game. That might sound cliche but truly that's the reality. We like him a lot."