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Washington Nationals July 2016 Month In Review

By Ricky Keeler

Jul 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Nationals principle owner Mark Lerner speaks with manager Dusty Baker (12) before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 6, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Nationals principle owner Mark Lerner speaks with manager Dusty Baker (12) before the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Jul 29, 2016; San Francisco, CA, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker (12) relieves relief pitcher Blake Treinen (45) in the eighth inning against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park. The Nationals won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

Bullpen: D

The bullpen was by far the weakest unit of the Washington Nationals in the month of July. While they got Solis back last week after his DL stint, only three regular relievers had ERA’s under three (Blake Treinen,  Rivero, and Yusmeiro Petit). Rivero is now in Pittsburgh after the Melancon deal.

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One reliever did make his Major League debut this month and that was Koda Glover. Glover, who was drafted in the eighth round in 2015, shut out the Dodgers in two appearance and only needed four pitches to finish his Major League debut on July 21. He is now at triple-A Syracuse, but he could be a piece for the bullpen down the road.

A positive about this bullpen was the performance by Treinen. He had a 0.93 ERA in 13 games and gave up just one earned run. He has been one of the pitchers Baker has used in setup situations when Shawn Kelley was unavailable. He has now posted sub-one ERA’s in each of the last two months.

When you look at the bullpen’s struggles, Kelley gave up three home runs and had an ERA of 3.24 in 11 games as either the closer or the set-up man. Even though Oliver Perez had two hits against the Mets on July 7, he had a 3.60 ERA in 13 games.

Finally, Jonathan Papelbon’s struggles have been alarming. Papelbon returned from his intercostal injury on July 4 and did not give up a run in his first seven appearances. Over his last three outings, he gave up seven earned runs, blew one save (July 26 against the Indians), and was pulled from the ninth inning when the Nats had a three run lead on Friday against the Giants.

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With Melancon now the closer, Papelbon would likely be the eighth inning guy unless the team adds another reliever. I liked the Melancon deal because the Washington Nationals didn’t have to give up much to get a good closer compared to what the Cubs and Indians gave up for Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller respectively.

In the end, the Washington Nationals need much more production from their bullpen down the stretch. The Melancon deal should help, but they need those late-inning relievers to provide a formidable bridge to the closer. We shall see what happens over the next two months.

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