Washington Nationals: Bullpen Struggles Through First Week of 2017

Seen by many as the weakness of the Washington Nationals, the bullpen has gotten off to a less than optimal start in 2017.

After the Washington Nationals failed to acquire a proven closer this off-season, many people viewed the bullpen as a definite weakness.  This is despite the fact that most of the relievers are returning members from the 2016 relieving corps, which ranked second in the majors in bullpen ERA.

Blake Treinen, Koda Glover, and Shawn Kelley competed for the closer’s role throughout Spring Training, and Treinen was eventually named the closer.

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So far, he’s three-of-four in save opportunities and has given up three runs in 3.1 innings.  While I don’t believe it’s time to give up on the Treinen experiment just yet, he certainly needs to improve quickly or he could be in danger of losing the closer’s role.

Treinen’s competition to become closer hasn’t fared much better in 2017.  Kelley has struggled mightily, pitching to a 12.00 ERA while allowing four runs on four hits and two walks.  Glover, who appeared to be one of the only competent relievers in the Nats’ bullpen, was handed the loss in Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies.  Out of Glover’s 21 pitches, just ten found the zone, and he only retired two batters before giving up a walk-off single to Cesar Hernandez.

In 2016, the Nationals had some of the best left-handed relievers in Sammy Solis, Felipe Rivero, and Marc Rzepczynski.  Rivero was a key part of the trade to acquire Mark Melancon, and Rzepczynski has since signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent.

The Nats acquired hard throwing Enny Romero from the Tampa Bay Rays, leaving them with Solis, Romero, and Oliver Perez as the lefties in the pen.  All three have struggled out of the gate so far.

Solis, who was a pleasant surprise last season, has allowed three runs on three hits and two walks in three innings so far.  He pitched well on Sunday and looked like his old self, so hopefully that means he just had a few bad outings to begin the season.

Solis was one of the Nats’ best relievers in 2016, and pitched in all five games of the NLDS.  It’s imperative that Solis bounces back and has another dominant season.

The Nats acquired Romero for practically nothing, and it looked like Mike Rizzo had made another one of his trademarked lopsided trades.  Romero performed well in the Dominican Winter League, and then absolutely dominated in the World Baseball Classic.  It appeared Romero had figured everything out, and would assume a key role in the back of the bullpen.

Since the games have begun counting, his struggles have returned.  Romero currently has a 11.57 ERA and has allowed eight hits in 2.1 innings.

Perez has also struggled so far, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

He is coming off a terrible season with a 4.95 ERA, which is his highest since becoming a reliever. The highlight of Perez’s 2016 season came not on the mound, but at the plate after his game-tying RBI bunt in the 15th inning against the Minnesota Twins.  In 2017, Perez has a 11.57 ERA and has surrendered three runs on four hits in 2.1 innings.

The only member of the bullpen with a sub-3 ERA is newly acquired Joe Blanton.

Nats fans are familiar with Blanton from his days as a starter for the Phillies.  He has since converted to a reliever, and has performed wonderfully.

He spent 2016 as a key member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, and has thrown well so far for the Nats.  Blanton did a great job of preserving the bullpen by throwing three innings in the 17-3 loss to the Phillies on Saturday.  He owns a 1.93 ERA, giving up just one run in 4.2 innings.

The thing that you must remember is that the Nationals have only played seven games, which means they have 155 left.  The season is still in its infancy, and it’s important not to get too high or too low based one what has occurred so far.  The Nats have lots of quality arms in the pen, and feature a good mixture of youth and experience.

Next: Rendon Must Move Down Batting Order

The bullpen hasn’t gotten off to a great start, but they will improve and be fine in the end.