Bullpen improvement must come both from within and from outside

Bullpen improvement must come both from within and from outside
Stability has never been a hallmark of the Nationals bullpen. Truth be told, it's rarely a hallmark of any club's bullpen, given the inherent instability of the position. But the Nats took this longstanding theme to new (and often painful) levels in 2021. For only the third time in team history, Nationals relievers finished a season with a collective ERA north of 5.00, joining the 103-loss 2009 group and the tightrope-walking 2019 unit that managed to get it together just in time to win in...

How will the Nats approach finding a new closer?

How will the Nats approach finding a new closer?
Watching everyone's memories of the 2019 postseason run, a World Series win in Game 7 in Houston on Howie Kendrick's clanger and the ensuing celebratory parade in D.C. has been a blast. I've always preferred memories over memorabilia, because memories can't be bought, sold or traded. They'll be with us until the day we die. Man, what a fun postseason we had two years ago, full of memories to last a lifetime. But the 2021 campaign is over, and it's time to throw another log into the hot...

After getting thrown into closer role, where does Finnegan fit?

After getting thrown into closer role, where does Finnegan fit?
PLAYER REVIEW: KYLE FINNEGAN Age on opening day 2022: 30 How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2019 MLB service time: 2 years, 0 days 2021 salary: $582,400 Contract status: Under team control, arbitration-eligible in 2023, free agent in 2026 2021 stats: 5-9, 3.55 ERA, 68 G, 11 SV, 66 IP, 64 H, 39 R, 26 ER, 9 HR, 34 BB, 68 SO, 2 HBP, 1.485 WHIP, 115 ERA+, 4.52 FIP, 0.1 fWAR, minus-0.6 bWAR Quotable: "Don't get me wrong, he's been a godsend for us. He's handled the ball for multiple...

Crowd salutes Zimmerman, then Sox beat 'pen (updated)

Crowd salutes Zimmerman, then Sox beat 'pen (updated)
The outcome of the game was important - to the Red Sox. The Nationals wanted to respect that. And yet there were things the Nats felt they needed to do in this Game 162, whether putting a 23-year-old rookie on the mound for his major league debut, giving a retiring catcher a chance to take the field one last time or giving a potentially retiring franchise icon a chance to depart the field to the celebration he deserves. So it was that today's season finale played out on South Capitol Street in...

Soto headlines Nationals' annual team award winners

Soto headlines Nationals' annual team award winners
Juan Soto has three more days to make his case to win National League MVP honors. He already locked up a slightly less significant honor today. Soto was named the Nationals' 2021 Player of the Year, the second straight season the young star won the award given out annually in a vote of media members who regularly cover the team. Soto is joined by Kyle Finnegan (Pitcher of the Year) and Josh Bell (Good Guy Award) in receiving this year's honors, which are being presented prior to the start of...

Who's to blame for Nats' extra-long games this season?

Who's to blame for Nats' extra-long games this season?
Juan Soto went 0-for-4 without reaching base Tuesday night, and that still didn't qualify as the most surprising fact about the Nationals' 3-1 loss to the Rockies. No, that honor went not to any one individual but to the clock at Coors Field. The game started at 6:40 p.m. local time, and it ended at 9:40 p.m. local time. Yes, a three-hour ballgame. At the best hitter's park in baseball, with two of the worst pitching staffs in baseball competing against each other. For the Nats, this was an...

Bullpen delivers in Colorado to secure win for Gray (updated)

Bullpen delivers in Colorado to secure win for Gray (updated)
Ask an inexperienced bullpen that has been on fumes for weeks to protect a one-run lead at Coors Field in late September and you're asking for trouble by default. Not that Davey Martinez had any choice tonight. Despite five scoreless innings from Josiah Gray to begin the Nationals' series opener in Colorado, the rookie starter faded quickly in the sixth and got the hook with his team clinging to a 4-3 lead. So it was up to a beleaguered bullpen to hold that lead, with no margin for error, in...

Is Rainey ready to take over closer's job from Finnegan?

Is Rainey ready to take over closer's job from Finnegan?
What should have been a nice and tidy, 3-0 victory for the Nationals in Cincinnati on Thursday night instead turned into a real nail biter. Handed that three-run lead for the bottom of the ninth, Kyle Finnegan proceeded to give up two quick runs and then let the winning run step to the plate with two outs. Finnegan would ultimately escape, striking out the Reds' Tyler Stephenson with a slider to wrap up a 3-2 win and record his 11th save, but it was hardly a straight and easy path to get...

Soto's remarkable run continues in win over Reds (updated)

Soto's remarkable run continues in win over Reds (updated)
We've reached the point of absurdity with Juan Soto. It has become impossible to note anything the young Nationals star does without comparing him to the greatest hitters who have ever played this game. And it's not hyperbole. Soto legitimately deserves the comparison. Because you can't really compare him to anyone else currently hitting in 2021, not right now. Yes, Bryce Harper is having a phenomenal season for the Phillies and might still hang on to win the National League MVP. But Soto is...

September workload is mental challenge for Finnegan, relievers

September workload is mental challenge for Finnegan, relievers
Kyle Finnegan is in his ninth professional season, his sixth as a full-time reliever, and he's been fairly durable the entire time. He has not, however, found himself taking on the kind of workload required of him this season in Washington. The next time Finnegan takes the mound, whether this afternoon at Nationals Park or in the coming days during the final road trip of the season, he'll do so for the 63rd time this season. He's currently tied for the 18th-most appearances by a National...

Finnegan blows late rally, Nats eliminated with loss (updated)

Finnegan blows late rally, Nats eliminated with loss (updated)
There are only so many ways to say this, and given the frequency with which it's happening, we're running dangerously low on options. So I'll be blunt: The Nationals bullpen blew two more leads in Friday's 9-8 loss to the Rockies on South Capitol Street. Handed a one-run lead after a late rally in the eighth, Kyle Finnegan needed only three outs in the ninth to seal a win and record his 10th save of the season. Instead, he gave up a leadoff game-tying home run to blow his fourth save...

Once a pitching-rich club, Nats have lost their way

Once a pitching-rich club, Nats have lost their way
In a summer full of agonizing losses, Wednesday's 8-6 defeat at the hands of the Marlins had to rank among the Nationals' worst. Not just because of the end result, but because of the path they took to reach that result. After getting five scoreless innings from starter Josh Rogers, and after getting a well-balanced offensive attack from a lineup that has been better than advertised since the trade deadline, the Nats still found a way to lose after their bullpen imploded. Five relievers...

Bullpen gives up eight to ruin Rogers' strong start (updated)

Bullpen gives up eight to ruin Rogers' strong start (updated)
The baseball that was displayed for 3 hours and 53 minutes this afternoon at Nationals Park was not of a caliber many in the announced crowd of 16,309 could have found satisfactory. The Nationals and Marlins took turns trying to out-underperform each other, from the Nats' inability to produce with runners in scoring position to the Marlins' inability to play clean defense to both bullpens' inability to protect leads. (Or, in Miami's case, throw strikes with the bases loaded.) It all made...

Pitching staff finally takes advantage of run support (updated)

Pitching staff finally takes advantage of run support (updated)
The Nationals got their customary production today from a lineup that has quietly turned into a legitimate strength but too often has been wasted by ineffective pitching performances, especially from those charged with taking the mound late in games. Eight times since Aug. 25, this team had scored five or more runs. And proceeded to lose all eight games, the longest such streak in major league history. So when they looked up at the scoreboard in Pittsburgh this afternoon and saw five runs on...

Nats send message, then topple Braves (updated)

Nats send message, then topple Braves (updated)
For Sean Nolin and the Nationals, the message (standing up for a star teammate against an opponent that appeared to hit him on purpose the previous night) superseded all else. If it meant the rest of the pitching staff would face an extreme uphill battle from that point on, so be it. The message, even if nobody would publicly admit it after the fact, was more important. And when Nolin intentionally threw at Freddie Freeman on successive pitches in the bottom of the first tonight in Atlanta,...

Newcomer Rogers beats Mets, halts skid at seven (updated)

Newcomer Rogers beats Mets, halts skid at seven (updated)
An unknown quantity produced some much-needed quality for the Nationals on Saturday night. Lefty Josh Rogers - whose contract was selected from Triple-A Rochester to start the nightcap of a doubleheader because he was on turn and filled a need - threw 5 2/3 innings of four-hit, three-run ball as the Nationals beat the Mets 4-3 to snap a seven-game losing streak. Employing a herky-jerky old-school windup with an occasional hint of hesitation, Rogers gave the Nationals the length they needed to...

Finnegan returns from paternity leave, McGowin hits injured list

Finnegan returns from paternity leave, McGowin hits injured list
The Nationals bullpen got a boost and took a hit today, with news that right-hander Kyle Finnegan had returned from paternity leave. To make room for Finnegan on the 28-man roster, the Nats placed righty Kyle McGowin on the 10-day injured list with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, a tough break for a guy who has performed well while riding the shuttle this season between Triple-A Rochester and the majors. Manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with...

Robles optioned to Triple-A, Finnegan on paternity leave

Robles optioned to Triple-A, Finnegan on paternity leave
Victor Robles, not long ago a more highly touted prospect than Juan Soto and only two years ago the starting center fielder on a World Series champion, is now a minor leaguer. The Nationals optioned the slumping Robles to Triple-A Rochester prior to tonight's game against the Phillies, a transaction that had shock value in the moment but in truth was weeks in the making. Andrew Stevenson was recalled from Rochester to take Robles' roster spot. The Nats also placed de facto closer Kyle...

Nats bullpen comes through in 2-1 win over Mets (updated)

Nats bullpen comes through in 2-1 win over Mets (updated)
Earlier this summer, as the Mets were holding onto their lead in the National League East and the Nationals were starting to make their move up the standings, these late-season matchups between the two rivals loomed large. Perhaps they'd be played in front of packed houses in D.C. and New York, everyone hanging on every pitch with a division title potentially at stake. When the Nats walked into Citi Field this evening, though, the stakes bore no resemblance to what anybody on either side...

Four things to watch over last 40 games

Four things to watch over last 40 games
The Nationals have 40 games remaining in the 2021 season, starting with this afternoon's series finale in Milwaukee. It's hard to believe that we're already this close to the end of the baseball season. Fall is right around the corner. On this week's episode of the "MASN All Access Podcast," Amy Jennings and I set goals for a handful of Nationals players to reach before season's end. I wanted to expand on a couple of those goals and bring up some new ones as things to look out for over...