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Nationals closer Drew Storen finished third in the final National League standings for the Rolaids Relief Man Award, ending the season a point shy of the Diamondbacks' J.J. Putz for second place. Milwaukee's John Axford won the award in the National League.
Storen saved 43 of 48 games, and finished a point ahead of the Braves' Craig Kimbrel, who saved 46 of 54. Kimbrel's blown saves hurt him in the standings, and Storen got a boost from the fact he finished the year with six wins.
That's a stat that probably shouldn't be given too much weight in reliever competitions, since two of Storen's six wins came after he blew saves. But those wins actually are canceled out in the standings by the blown saves, so Storen gets credit for what he did on the road four times, pitching in tie games and getting victories after the Nationals scored to take the lead.
The finish caps an impressive first year as a closer for Storen, who threw more innings than any closer in baseball except Kimbrel and saved 43 of his team's 80 victories. Without a commanding starting rotation, the Nationals leaned heavily on Storen and All-Star setup man Tyler Clippard. Storen's reward comes now, while Clippard's will likely arrive later this winter, in the form of a sizable raise in arbitration.
