David Robertson coming to the rescue of the Nationals bullpen has felt inevitable for months now. You knew that Mike Rizzo wouldn’t (read: couldn’t) leave the Nats pen as is, as it was an invitation to an(other) NLDS exit no matter how good the lineup or rotation were. They didn’t end up getting Robertson despite rumor after rumor suggesting that was the end point of all this. But that’s also fine because the Nats decided to get two relievers in one deal instead.
The Nationals finally traded for bullpen help
Monday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at the revamped Nationals pen, Jackie Bradley’s dinger-robbing catch, and teams that are starting to think about selling.
Photo by Jason O. Watson/Getty Images
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Washington acquired the A’s 2016 closer, Ryan Madson, and their 2014 closer, Sean Doolittle. While neither were closing now with the regularity they once did, they’re both still performing at a high level. Madson has pitched in 40 games and produced a 2.06 ERA with 6.5 times as many strikeouts as walks in 2017, while Doolittle missed time due to a shoulder strain but has still managed to strike out 31 of the 79 batters he’s faced while allowing just a pair of free passes on the year.
Compare that to the Nats pen, where the lone bright spot has been Matt Albers keeping up the Cinderella act into the middle of the season but at the cost of the rest of the relievers turning into pumpkins, and you can see why Washington went for the package deal. That’s not hyperbole for a poor performance, either: The Nats have a 5.31 ERA from their bullpen while allowing an 822 OPS, whereas the league-averages are 4.11 and 720. If not for Washington’s rotation and the general fumbling of the rest of the NL East, the Nationals wouldn’t have the lead they do.
The Nats don’t necessarily need to be done adding to the pen, either. If they want to go for the total overhaul, they still have two weeks to make deals before the non-waiver trade deadline. And with the White Sox clearly selling at a time few others are, maybe the Nats will end up with David Robertson as has been foretold.
- You might think Pablo Sandoval falling apart was an inevitability, but really, there is only one lesson the Red Sox can draw from signing him as a free agent. And it’s kind of one that teams just have to ignore to succeed.
- Aaron Judge’s power is impressive, but it wasn’t enough to stop Jackie Bradley Jr. from nonchalantly hopping up and snagging a would-be dinger from the deepest part of Fenway Park. Maybe the most impressive thing about it is the faith the Red Sox fans had in Bradley stealing a homer away. None of them go for the ball!
- The Orioles are preparing to sell, but they aren’t even listening to offers for Manny Machado.
- The Blue Jays asked the Cubs for a big league player in exchange for Marcus Stroman. And with Jose Quintana emptying the minor league coffers, if Chicago is still interested, a big league player is probably what it would cost them to get Stroman.
- There’s a second side to the Nats trading for those relievers, and it’s that Billy Beane has finally started admitting there is an A’s rebuild ... and it better work.
- The Red Sox get Eduardo Rodriguez back in their rotation as of Monday.
- There are teams asking the Braves about Jaime Garcia, but Atlanta is now .500 and not quite ready to sell yet.
- In the words of Viva El Birdos, the Cardinals should zig while the Brewers and Cubs zag.
- Nelson Cruz pretended that he was going to charge the mound, so he’s just full of jokes lately.
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