Mark Zuckerman

Sources: Nats sign veteran reliever Blanton for $4 million

Sources: Nats sign veteran reliever Blanton for $4 million
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The Nationals have signed veteran reliever Joe Blanton to a one-year, major-league deal, according to a club source, adding some much-needed right-handed depth to their bullpen. Blanton has arrived in West Palm Beach and could be in uniform as soon as Wednesday. His deal, according to a source familiar with the terms, guarantees him $4 million this season, with up to $1 million in incentives. Blanton's signing is pending a physical examination. The Nationals also will...
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Mark Zuckerman

Bullpen has some holes but plenty of talent

Bullpen has some holes but plenty of talent
As the start of spring training fast approaches, we're breaking down the state of the Nationals roster, position by position. The series continues today with the bullpen ... This may come as a surprise, given how much angst there seems to be over the subject, but the Nationals had one of baseball's best bullpens last season. The unit ranked in the top five in the majors in ERA (3.37), WHIP (1.187), opponents' on-base percentage (.300) and opponents' OPS (.673). So how come there's still so...
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Mark Zuckerman

A brief history of the Nats' ever-changing closer identity

A brief history of the Nats' ever-changing closer identity
We don't know yet who will serve as the Nationals closer come opening day, but we do know it will be someone new. Mark Melancon is no longer in D.C., having signed a four-year deal with the Giants earlier this winter. Drew Storen also is long gone, having spent 2016 in Toronto and Seattle, and now signed with the Reds for 2017. Jonathan Papelbon? He remains in parts unknown, but we do know he's not in Washington anymore. If you've been following the Nationals closely over the years, though,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Closer or not, Nationals do need more bullpen help

Closer or not, Nationals do need more bullpen help
The Nationals loaded up a semi-truck full of baseball gear Monday morning and sent it down Interstate 95 toward West Palm Beach, where their still-under-construction new spring training complex awaits. It's an annual rite of winter, the so-called "Truck Day" when teams across baseball do likewise and try to stir up warm feelings of pitchers and catchers and palm trees and bunting drills. That truck, however, does not contain everything the Nationals need for spring training. There are some...
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Mark Zuckerman

Could Nats stand pat and field competitive 25-man roster?

Could Nats stand pat and field competitive 25-man roster?
It has now been 41 days since the Nationals last added or subtracted a player from their 40-man roster. (It was the Danny Espinosa trade to the Angels, for those wondering.) That's an awfully prolonged period of radio silence for any major league club, but the Nats aren't alone in this regard. It's been an unusually slow-developing offseason across baseball, with a bunch of prominent free agents still unemployed even though we're closing in on three weeks til pitchers and catchers report...
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Mark Zuckerman

Solis hits "roadblock," but new lefties stepping up in Nats bullpen

Solis hits "roadblock," but new lefties stepping up in Nats bullpen
It has been one of the bigger questions facing the Nationals all season: Which left-handed reliever (or relievers) can they trust when crunch-time arrives? The answer to that question has changed several times in five months. Felipe Rivero and Oliver Perez were the primary left-handers in the Nationals bullpen back in April, but then Sammy Solis emerged as manager Dusty Baker's top southpaw as May turned to June and July. Then Rivero was traded to the Pirates in the Mark Melancon deal and...
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Mark Zuckerman

Late-summer acquisitions have boosted bullpen

Late-summer acquisitions have boosted bullpen
PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals entered late July with a bullpen that, while successful in the big picture, featured some significant question marks. Did they need a new closer? Did they need more reliable left-handed help? Did they need a burst of energy from another young arm? One month later, as the calendar now shifts from August to September, the Nationals bullpen has been tweaked. General manager Mike Rizzo addressed all three of those issues, and the results (so far) have been...
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Mark Zuckerman

What's the state of the Nats pitching staff tonight?

What's the state of the Nats pitching staff tonight?
BALTIMORE - The Nationals have spent the better part of a week trying to get their bullpen back in order. Just when it looked they had done it, they were forced to cobble together yet another game Tuesday night, needing 5 1/3 innings from their relief corps after starter Reynaldo Lopez was bumped early. It could have been a lot worse, though. Matt Belisle (three innings), Oliver Perez (one inning) and Yusmeiro Petit (1 1/3 innings) joined forces to get the staff through what wound up an 8-1...
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Mark Zuckerman

Bullpen running on fumes, with no break in sight

Bullpen running on fumes, with no break in sight
ATLANTA - Stretches of 20 consecutive games, particularly at this juncture of the season, are taxing on everybody on a ballclub, but the effect probably is most noticeable on a bullpen. And it's quite noticeable on the Nationals' bullpen right now. Nine days into their 20-days-without-a-break stretch, Nats relievers look, at times, like they're just trying to hang on and survive. They have pitched a combined 31 1/3 innings (an average of 3.48 per game) and have allowed 22 runs (18 earned) on...
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Mark Zuckerman

Treinen seizes opportunity to become fireman out of Nats 'pen

Treinen seizes opportunity to become fireman out of Nats 'pen
Blake Treinen has been through his ups and down over the last two years, offering the Nationals glimpses of his abilities out of the bullpen but too often balancing those out with prolonged periods of inconsistency that left his role undefined. If the last three months are a sign, though, the right-hander may have at last found his place, and the Nats couldn't be happier to have it happen. Over a span of 35 appearances that dates back to May 15, Treinen has posted an 0.84 ERA, allowing just...
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Mark Zuckerman

Martin called up from Syracuse to bolster bullpen for now

Martin called up from Syracuse to bolster bullpen for now
The Nationals called up right-hander Rafael Martin from Triple-A Syracuse, giving themselves another reliever for tonight's series opener against the Mets but still leaving the question of Tuesday night's starter unanswered for now. Martin becomes the eighth member of the Nationals bullpen, but his stay in D.C. could be brief. Unless the club intends to use long reliever Yusmeiro Petit as Stephen Strasburg's replacement in the rotation - and manager Dusty Baker said Sunday in Milwaukee that...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats struggling to cobble together bullpen with Papelbon out

Nats struggling to cobble together bullpen with Papelbon out
When Jonathan Papelbon landed on the disabled list for the first time in his career 10 days ago, it was viewed in some corners as a potential addition by subtraction, given the veteran closer's oft-shaky outings that seemed to feature more hard-hit balls than swings and misses. Dusty Baker knew better. Whatever heart palpitations Papelbon may cause his manager at times, he more than makes up for with experience and the domino effect he has on the rest of the Nationals bullpen. "I think the...
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Mark Zuckerman

Rivero's struggles coming to a head for Nationals

Rivero's struggles coming to a head for Nationals
The Nationals have long seen in Felipe Rivero a dynamic left-hander with the kind of overwhelming stuff that suggest he could become a big league closer some day in the not-too-distant future. That may yet happen, but at this particular moment, Rivero looks like a pitcher in need of a major overhaul. "He's in a bad state right now," manager Dusty Baker told reporters in San Diego following last night's 7-3 loss. "Nothing's really going his way." That's an understatement. Rivero has...
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Mark Zuckerman

Baker on lack of bullpen changes, Rivero's struggles vs. lefties

Baker on lack of bullpen changes, Rivero's struggles vs. lefties
CHICAGO - After the Nationals needed to ask for 11 total innings out of their bullpen over the last two games, it was fair to wonder if they would need to bring in a fresh arm before tonight's game against the White Sox. The short answer: No. "We didn't even talk about it," manager Dusty Baker said. The thinking behind such a move: Blake Treinen just threw 66 pitches over three innings, leaving him out of commission for several days, and Sammy Solis threw three innings Sunday in Cincinnati,...
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Mark Zuckerman

Belisle ready but expects to continue rehab at Harrisburg

Belisle ready but expects to continue rehab at Harrisburg
Matt Belisle believes he's ready to come off the disabled list and rejoin the Nationals bullpen. The club, however, wants the veteran right-hander to continue his rehab assignment. So after three appearances at high Single-A Potomac, Belisle is now expected to head to Double-A Harrisburg. Belisle, out since April 26 with a strained right calf, pitched two innings last night for Potomac, allowing two runs on four hits (one of them a homer). He also struck out three. That came after two...
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Mark Zuckerman

Nats getting contributions from entire bullpen

Nats getting contributions from entire bullpen
KANSAS CITY - With his team holding onto a 2-0 lead in the seventh inning last night against a Royals lineup that won last year's World Series thanks in large part to its ability to string together big rallies late in games, Nationals manager Dusty Baker could have gone the paint-by-numbers approach with the back end of his bullpen. Felipe Rivero in the seventh. Blake Treinen in the eighth. Jonathan Papelbon in the ninth. That, on paper, is the way the Nationals have drawn up the final three...
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Mark Zuckerman

After shaky debut, Kelley quietly dominant out of Nats bullpen

After shaky debut, Kelley quietly dominant out of Nats bullpen
KANSAS CITY - The Nationals gave Shawn Kelley a three-year, $15 million contract over the winter because they believed he was a guy they could trust to pitch in big spots late in ballgames. And they couldn't have found a much bigger spot to throw Kelley into for his first assignment this season: a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the eighth inning of a tie game on opening day. So when Kelley proceeded to walk that batter (Atlanta's Adonis Garcia) on four pitches (all of them at...
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Mark Zuckerman

Baker may not define bullpen roles until after opening day

Baker may not define bullpen roles until after opening day
VIERA, Fla. - As they enter their final week in Florida, the Nationals still are trying to establish specific bullpen roles. It would help, of course, if they already knew who exactly will be in their bullpen come opening day. That's not the case yet, with two jobs still up for grabs even at this late date. Given that situation, Dusty Baker hasn't been able to finalize in his mind who he'll be calling upon for certain game situations. "We're not exactly sure where we're going to slot guys...
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