The Washington Nationals bullpen issues extend beyond the big league level
It is no secret, the Washington Nationals bullpen is not good. In fact, it is one of the worst baseball has seen in recent memory. The unit has a jaw dropping ERA of 7.22 after struggling mightily in the series against the Guardians. However, there is no help waiting in the wings.
When bullpens are struggling, teams often turn to their Triple-A teams to find diamonds in the rough. A lot of times you can find nasty relievers by just giving relatively unknown guys a shot. These days there are a lot of players that have nasty stuff just waiting in Triple-A. However, the Nationals seem to have none of these guys. The bullpen in Triple-A Rochester is just as bad as the big league bullpen.
And to makes matters worse, it’s not like the Nationals have anyone who can immediately replace their current set of relievers.
Rochester’s bullpen ERA: 7.05, last in the International League. https://t.co/6fmdAdRft6
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) May 7, 2025
This is a serious problem and a failure from management. For many organizations, bullpen arms are the easiest thing to find. All you really need to do is find guys with lively arms that have a somewhat decent idea of where it is going. Guys nobody has ever heard of become star relievers every year.
Have you ever heard of Justin Sterner? No, I did not think so. He has not allowed a run in 18 appearances this year for the A’s. The A’s also developed Lucas Erceg, a reliever that had formerly flamed out as a third base prospect. They traded him to the Royals for a strong package. Those two pitchers have the lowest xwOBA against of any pitchers who have faced 50 batters.
Mike Rizzo simply isn’t finding these guys often enough. Yes, he has gotten some gems before, notably Kyle Finnegan and Robert Garcia, who is having a great year in Texas. However, these finds are few and far between.
For every Finnegan there are more Trevor Rosenthal’s, Colin Poche’s and Lucas Sims. When the Nats were in a contending window, it seemed like they had to scramble to rebuild the bullpen every year. It does not have to be like this.
A lot of teams wish they could have more bullpen arms, but most do not have full blown bullpen crisis’ as often as the Nats do in the Mike Rizzo era. Mike Rizzo has plenty of strengths as an executive. He has a very strong track record in trades and has had plenty of wins in free agency.
However, I sometimes wonder if his weaknesses are being magnified more in this era of baseball. Player development and bullpen’s are as important now as they have ever been. These areas are not Rizzo’s strengths. His track record in the draft has been spotty at best and his poor bullpen building has led to full blown crisis’ multiple seasons.
He can still pull off some great deals. The Juan Soto trade gave the Nationals a great young core. His signing and trade of Jeimer Candelario was great business, as was the Lane Thomas experience. However, this roster is heavily reliant on guys that have come via trade or free agency rather than home grown talent.
Who is the Nationals best truly homegrown player right now? Maybe Mitchell Parker or Luis Garcia Jr.? Those are nice players, but that lack of a home grown core is a bit of a problem. You need guys that come up all the way through your organization.
They have not been able to do that well enough. The organizational depth has not even been there. A couple days ago, they had to sign two arms including former big leaguer Adrian Sampson just so they could clean up the Rochester pitching staff. While there have been some injuries, that is not the best look. There should be someone in the organization waiting in the wings.
The lack of options on the farm is a big reason why this bullpen remains relatively unchanged. The relievers posting an ERA over 7 in Triple-A are not going to be any better than the guys with a 7 ERA in the big leagues.
There have been a lot of positive stories this year. James Wood is becoming one of the best hitters in baseball. MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams are both taking big steps towards becoming stars. However, some of that is being overshadowed by the organizations inability to build out the roster. This offseason the Nationals failed to find any competence in their bullpen, both at the big league level or on the farm. Mike Rizzo has done a lot of great things in DC, but he failed in a big way here.