Washington Nationals 2025 Season

THE LEAD

3.07, 8.05, 7.41, 9.77, 12.34, 2.08, 11.42, 4.09, 5.87, 3.86, 9.00. Those are the current ERA numbers for the eleven men who have pitched primarily out of the bullpen for the Nationals so far this season. Can you lift your dominant arm above your head? Well, Screech needs YOU to come on down and pitch for the Washington Nationals. Regardless of whether the team has been good or bad, the Nats during the Mike Rizzo era (thus, most of their time in DC) have been pretty bad at building bullpens, and absolutely horrendous at developing internal options for the bullpen throughout that time, as I have written about before. They drafted a college closer tenth overall and broke his confidence after a couple years on the job. Their next future closer hurt himself and didn’t tell the team how serious it was, and is now a high school coach in a one-horse town in eastern Oklahoma. Almost every year during the 2012-19 competitive window Rizzo was scrambling to trade for multiple relievers at the deadline. The 2019 team famously allowed its bullpen corps beyond Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson (both deadline acquisitions in different seasons) to pitch only eighteen and a third innings throughout their playoff run, virtually none of them in even medium-leverage situations. Et cetera, et cetera.

All of that is merely preamble to say that this year’s version is cementing itself as the worst iteration to ever wear a curly W. How many of those guys do you trust? Kyle Finnegan (3.07), sure, even though he plays with fire almost every time out (only two of his fifteen appearances have not involved at least one base runner, usually in scoring position). Name another one. I have been a big believer in Jose A. Ferrer (8.05), the rare southpaw who can a) touch 100, b) miss bats, and c) generate ground balls, but he has barely more good outings this season (ten) than dreadful ones (nine). Cole Henry (4.09)? He has just one bad appearance on his game log, but he also is a survivor of thoracic outlet syndrome surgery and has to be handled carefully. Jackson Rutledge (2.08)? He has done very well in his first go-around as a reliever after being developed as a starter over the past six years (19 K in 13 IP, 1.308 WHIP), but most of that has come in low-leverage opportunities. Beyond Finnegan, the team’s most expensive relievers are free agent signings Jorge López (7.41) and Lucas Sims (12.34) at $3 million apiece, with both being extremely combustible (López with his very low strikeout rate is susceptible to bad luck on batted balls - especially with the Nats being year after year one of the worst teams in baseball at positioning their fielders, while Sims leads the majors in HBP and puts two men on base almost every time he pitches). Andrew Chafin (3.86) just showed up after spending the first month of the season in Toledo and already might be the most trustworthy arm that the Nats have.

Colin Poche (11.42, DFA’d) and Eduardo Sálazar (9.77, optioned to AAA) have both been mercifully removed from the roster, but Davey Martinez might still have heart palpitations any time he asks a coach to call down to the bullpen. Because there are practically no reliable arms - and because the Nats played a doubleheader the day before - Martinez pushed the fresh-off-a-rehab-assignment-for-a-biceps-strain Michael Soroka into the sixth inning yesterday after five rather brilliant frames, and Soroka then let go of the rope, going single-single-HBP-double (which cleared the bases) before being removed (after which, naturally, the bullpen doused the fire with more gasoline in the form of López - who allowed all three batters he faced to reach - and Chafin). If ownership is unwilling to commit more than scrap heap money to fill out a major league bullpen and is content to ride out another fourth- or fifth-place season (which would be the sixth in a row), Martinez might as well ride the younger homegrown options (Rutledge, Henry, Ferrer, and starter-turned-reliever Brad Lord, along with Orlando Ribalta whenever he returns from his own biceps strain caused by Martinez over-working him) and Chafin in front of Finnegan in every medium or high-leverage situation. Let the other guys pitch in blowouts, or see the light and let Lord - the epitome of found money - develop in the rotation where he belongs instead of Trevor Williams.

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Game Recap

As mentioned in the lead segment, Soroka was very good for five scoreless innings (two hits, a walk, eight strikeouts) before the disastrous sixth, and the offense staked him to a three-run lead in the first three innings thanks to RBIs from Jacob Young, Alex Call, and Luis García Jr. (who since visiting Coors Field has quietly turned his ship around, slashing .286/.348/.429 over his last sixteen games). And down 8-3, the bats rallied again with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs and loading the bases before the ninth batter of the inning, Alex Call, hit a can of corn to right field to end the threat. CJ Abrams singled off of Emmanuel Clase and stole second base in the bottom of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but Amed Rosario (why was he allowed to bat in that situation against any right-hander, let alone perhaps the best closer in baseball?) struck out before James Wood’s opposite-field line drive was caught by a diving Daniel Schneemann to end the game. And thus the team’s historically bad bullpen cost the Nats two wins and a chance to perhaps sweep the Guardians, a good low-budget team that played in last year’s ALCS (thanks to a huge ALDS home run from old friend Lane Thomas!). Next up are the St. Louis Cardinals beginning tomorrow, with Mitchell Parker facing off against another old friend, Erick Fedde.

 STORY TYPE

The New DH Platoon

With a left-handed pitcher starting for Cleveland, Josh Bell was kept out of the lineup again yesterday. This is good. So long as he is struggling in the midst of one of his characteristic slumps, Bell should not be Sharpied into the lineup every day, certainly not in the cleanup spot as he was in the doubleheader nightcap on Tuesday - regardless of who is pitching. His replacement at that position (for the seventh time already this season) was Wood, with Call playing left field on a clearly hurt leg/foot. This is bad. Yes, Wood is the team’s best hitter and a to this point below-average left fielder. But he was an excellent center fielder at every level of the minors and will not turn 23 until September - he deserves to have more opportunity to play a position that was new to him prior to last season, and Call is not a better option with a glove on.

So long as Bell is going to be in a straight platoon and Andrés Chaparro remains out with an oblique strain, why not rotate other players through the spot? CJ Abrams, for example (with Nasim Nuñez playing shortstop and upgrading the infield defense). Or - now that he’s finally being left in the lineup against some lefties - García Jr. (also with Nuñez replacing him in the field). Or Keibert Ruiz (Riley Adams, obviously). That gives each of them a semi-regular half-day at the office, of particular importance where Ruiz is concerned, while keeping the best bats in the lineup. Call has been excellent at the plate in part-time duty this season (.338/.446/.415, second on the team to Wood in walks), but he has been limping noticeably the last couple of games, and needs some time off his feet (or, hear me out, he could DH as long as he’s getting on base half the time). Regardless, there are more ways to attack this problem than simply always making an elite 22-year-old athlete the alternate DH every time out.

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 WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING

Speed Reads

📌 The Mariners Can Hit Now? (Fangraphs)

📌 Alarming Early Numbers Around MLB (The Athletic)

📌 How the Kick-Change Has Boosted the Mets (ESPN)