Washington Nationals: Ranking The Bullpens In The NL East

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With the Washington Nationals not signing a premiere closer, where does their bullpen rank among the others in the N.L. East

Today, we continue our look at the National League East heading into the 2017 season by taking a look at the bullpens. The Washington Nationals bullpen looks the same as last year minus the closer as Mark Melancon is now with the San Francisco Giants.

One of the toughest aspects of the game to predict every year is how a bullpen will do. One year, a bullpen might be fantastic, but it might struggle the next year regardless of the talent a team has in the ‘pen.

If you go off of last season’s numbers, there were three National League East teams that finished in the top ten in bullpen ERA in the NL (Nationals, Mets, and Marlins). With that being said, ERA is a tough stat to go off of because a pitcher might come in and give up inherited runs for a starter.

Now, if you want to go by strikeouts, there were also three NL East teams in the top five in that category in the league (Marlins, Mets, Braves were second, third, and fourth). As for the Nats, they had the lowest strikeout total in the NL East (13^th in the NL).

Right now, heading into 2017, the NL East has mostly the same closers as it did last year on Opening Day. The only difference is Jim Johnson is the new projected closer in Atlanta and the Nats still don’t know who their closer is going to be yet.

So, without further ado, here is how I would rank the bullpens in the division. If you want to share your rankings, please feel free to share them in the comments section.

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Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals had the second lowest bullpen ERA of any team in the National League last season (3.37), but they find themselves at the bottom of this list for one reason. Right now, they do not have a set closer compared to the other four teams in the division that do.

With Mark Melancon now in San Francisco and the Nats missing out on numerous closer targets this winter, it leaves internal options such as Blake Treinen and Shawn Kelley as the two main candidates for the closer spot heading into spring training.

On Tuesday, Dusty Baker met with the media and talked about how just like last year (outside of closer), the Nats still have to figure out which relievers will go in which role:

“So we’ll come up with that and if we have to still tweak and experiment, I mean last year, don’t forget, we didn’t start out knowing the roles of the guys here other than Pap (Jonathan Papelbon). … We didn’t know where we were gonna use (Shawn) Kelley, we didn’t know when we were gonna use a lot of the guys that ended up emerging.” (h/t Bobby Blanco, MASNSports.com)

Treinen ended up appearing in more high leverage situations as the season went on and appeared in a team high 73 games. As for Kelley, he went into the postseason having not given up a run in the month of September.

Heading into spring training, the Nats do have other possible closer options in non-roster invitee Joe Nathan and young right-hander Koda Glover. But, if you are looking for a non-closer to watch, keep an eye on Sammy Solis, who did an excellent job in the NLDS against the Dodgers as he pitched in all five games.

It’s possible the Nats could end up being towards the top of the list once the season is over. But, with the uncertainty at closer, it’s just tough to rank them that high until someone steps up and takes the spot.

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Philadelphia Phillies

This offseason, the Phillies went out and added a couple free agent relievers into their bullpen. They signed Joaquin Benoit to a one-year, $7.5 million deal and Pat Neshek to a one-year, $6.5 million deal. Both of those veterans should bring experience to a young bullpen.

As for the closer, that spot belongs to Jeanmar Gomez. In the first three months of last season, Gomez was 21-for-23 in saves and was one of the surprises in the National League. But, in the second half of the season, he had 21 strikeouts in 13 games and teams hit .356 against him.

Heading into this season, manager Pete Mackanin has already said Gomez is his closer despite the struggles to end last season and the fact a proven closer (Benoit) is on the team:

“I want to show Jeanmar the confidence that he deserves after the year he had, even though he had a hiccup at the end.” (h/t Ryan Lawrence, Philly Voice)

One other reliever to keep an eye on in the Philles bullpen is right-hander Hector Neris. Neris made 79 appearances last season, had a team high 102 strikeouts, and teams only hit .189 in the second half (.120 in the month of September) against him.

If the Phillies are going to have a successful bullpen in 2017, they will have to avoid giving up the long ball (82 home runs allowed in 2016 – second in the National League). If Gomez and Neris can help out Benoit and Neshek, that gives Philadelphia four solid relievers. If not, they could always trade Benoit or Neshek at the July 31 trade deadline.

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Atlanta Braves

If there’s one stat that stood out about the Braves bullpen, it’s that they issued a lot of walks. Their 256 walks ended up being the fourth most in the National League and the most of any NL East team.

Arodys Vizcaino was the closer heading into last season, but that job now belongs to 33-year-old right-hander Jim Johnson. Johnson isn’t the closer that he was when he had back-to-back 50+ saves in 2011 and 2012. However, he was 18-for-19 in save chances in the second half last season.

As for Vizcaino, he only pitched in 43 games in 2016, but his 50 strikeouts were third on the team. Plus, he has an average velocity of over 97 miles per hour (according to Fangraphs), so he can bring the fastball to the mound. The only question is his health, since he hasn’t appeared in more than 43 games in a season.

If there’s a name that Nats fans might recognize in this bullpen, it’s Ian Krol. The former Nats left-hander from 2013 did have some crazy splits last season (.323 batting average against on the road compared to .226 at home). But, in 63 appearances last season, he did have almost ten strikeouts per nine innings.

With the veteran starters the Braves brought in this offseason, it may take some pressure off of their bullpen in 2017. In 2016, they threw the fourth most innings of any bullpen in the NL. If Vizcaino can stay healthy, the Braves could have a good late-inning duo that can help them preserve more wins.

New York Mets

When I did these rankings, I thought the top two bullpens in this division separated themselves dramatically from the other three teams. Just like the rest of the team, the Mets bring back the same bullpen that they had the end of last season.

Right now, the big question for the Mets is at the closer spot heading into the season. Will Jeurys Familia end up being suspended for the domestic violence incident he had in the offseason? If so, that means someone else will have to be the closer.

Regardless of whether he’s suspended or not, Familia has been one of the best closers in the last two seasons. Despite some bad outings in the postseason, the 27-year-old right-hander is 94-for-104 in save chances since 2015.

The reliever that may have made the most improvements last year is Addison Reed. As the team’s setup man, he had a 1.89 ERA in the eighth inning, only gave up seven runs in the second half of the season, and had 91 strikeouts on the season (most in the bullpen).

To help fill some of the middle relief spots, New York signed Fernando Salas and Jerry Blevins to one-year-deals. Blevins (has an option for a second season) is a good lefty reliever, but he had better splits last season against right-handed pitching (.182 in 55 at-bats).

If you look at the long relief spot, they have three options in either Zack Wheeler, Robert Gsellman, or Seth Lugo (whichever doesn’t win the fifth roster spot). Most people talk about the strength of the Mets rotation, but their bullpen is definitely one of the best in this division.

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Miami Marlins

Last season, the Marlins bullpen had the second most strikeouts of any team in the National League (570) and they were tied with the Washington Nationals for the third fewest home runs allowed (48).

This offseason, the Marlins added to their bullpen with the signings of Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa in free agency. Due to the passing of Jose Fernandez, Miami’s rotation isn’t as strong, so they have to depend a lot on the bullpen in 2017.

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Their closer is A.J. Ramos, who had 40 saves last season (fourth in the National League). Since the 2015 season, the 30-year-old right-hander has 82 saves in 91 chances and has appeared in over 65 games every season since 2013.

As for the aforementioned free agent signings, Ziegler has an ERA of under three in five of the last six seasons. The big question will be Tazawa and whether or not he can rebound after having an ERA of over five in his last 18 appearances of the season.

Miami also has Kyle Barraclough that they could use in the late innings, but the pitcher I want to focus on is David Phelps. Phelps can be used as a starter or reliever, but he had a 2.31 ERA in the bullpen last season and held hitters to a .181 average in 22 second half outings.

Next: Pace Of Play Issues Are Real

When you look at this Miami bullpen, they will be relied upon a lot if their starters can’t go deep into games. They couldn’t get Kenley Jansen or Aroldis Chapman this winter, but they do have good depth that can help them shorten ball games.

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