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The arrival of Matt Capps to the Nationals' bullpen means two things right off the bat.
Number one, they're not going to pursue Mike MacDougal. And, number two, by only giving Capps one year, they're paving the way for Drew Storen to be the closer of the future.
Capps is young - he just turned 26 in September - and was 27-for-32 in save opportunities in 2009. Pitching for the Pirates, he had little margin for error, and his ERA of 5.80 doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. Still, he was unscored upon in 38 of his 57 appearances, and Nats' GM Mike Rizzo feels he'll bridge the gap until Storen is ready.
Capps comes highly recommended by his former Pittsburgh teammates Sean Burnett and Nyjer Morgan, and again, it's important to restate the Nationals' preference for the better makeup players.
Career-wise, Capps has a sub-4.00 ERA, and a solid WHIP of 1.18 in 271 appearances. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is 4-to-1, which coming on the heels of last year's closer's numbers, is a marked improvement.
