Washington Nationals: Power ranking the closer trade targets

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As the Washington Nationals shop for a closer, here are the top five names to watch. The risks are high, will the rewards be as well?

This is the wrong year for the Washington Nationals to need a closer.

In 2016 Mark Melancon, Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller were dangled in front of needy teams and snapped up like today’s catch at a fish market. This year, no high-grade lobster and salmon await shoppers as the end of July approaches.

To complicate matters, most of the American League still has a chance at the playoffs. Where teams floundering around .500 in the past would tempt fate to stick a line out for fresh prospects, that luxury no longer exists. If you can reach the playoffs, you can win the World Series. Sellers become buyers.

The largest problems the Nats face as they prepare for another trip to the playoffs is the bullpen. There is no closer and no one healthy who wants the job.

Koda Glover has the best pure stuff on the staff, but a myriad of injuries have him on the disabled list for the near future. Hard to trust your season to a player with three trips to the DL in a year.

Enny Romero hits triple-digits with his fastball. His stuff is electric if it finds the strike zone. Although improved the last month, unless he nails an audition coming off the All-Star Break, there is no way Washington turns to him to save their season.

Blake Treinen may never recover his confidence after starting the season as closer. Shawn Kelley, before getting hurt, turned into a shell of himself. When Matt Albers is the best option, you are in trouble. And, all teams know it.

With no leverage, Mike Rizzo must cobble together a deal to give the Nats a fighting chance. If they are to advance past the NL Divisional Series, they need one of the five pitchers on this list.

With apologies to Addison Reed fans, here are the top targets on the Nats shopping list this month.

5. SEAN DOOLITTLE

With the Oakland Athletics about to hold yet another purge of talent, Sean Doolittle is one of two possible closers Washington may find available.

The lefty made the 2014 AL All-Star squad as a closer, but has 11 saves on the stat sheet since. Coming off an injury, Doolittle has a WHIP of 0.689 in 20.1 innings with an impressive 5.3 H/9 ratio.

His control is immaculate. Averaging 12.8 K/9, Doolittle’s tossed two walks to 29 strikeouts. His 3.54 ERA is nothing to write home about, but those control numbers are downright gaudy.

Four times since returning from injury a month ago, Doolittle retired the side on under 10 pitches. A whopping 74 percent of his pitches are strikes. As Sammy Solis struggles to regain his form, the Nats could use another lefty to match Romero to use as a setup pitcher.

His lack of closer experience—along with San Diego’s Brad Hand—gives reasons for pause. On the plus side, he costs virtually nothing and has team control via options through 2020. For a team on a tight budget, Doolittle is a bargain.

Whether he is the missing championship piece remains to be seen. If the Nats trade for two bullpen pieces, he is potentially a huge asset.

4. RYAN MADSON

The other half of Oakland’s daily double is Ryan Madson. Last year’s closer for the Athletics, he is setting up this season for Santiago Casilla.

Madson has found success since coming back from injury. First as a member of the dynamic championship Kansas City Royals bullpen in 2015 and again this year, he has a sub-2.20 ERA with a WHIP under 1.000. This season’s 0.804 is a career best.

His control is excellent, walking 1.4 per nine this season. His 5.8 H/9 impresses on first glance. Balls stay in the yard too as two have left in 37.1 innings this year.

However, there are three red flags with Madson.

When closing for Oakland last year, his ERA and WHIP climbed while his control failed. The Nats cannot afford to throw someone into the toughest job in the non-government part of the city without having absolute faith in doing the job.

He is not a strikeout pitcher. Although you can be effective pitching to contact, not having that killer instinct to shut down teams with stuff is a bigger factor in October.

Also, he would put the Nats over the competitive balance tax threshold as Madson is under contract in 2018 for $7.67 million.

He can be had, and makes an interesting duo with Doolittle, but there are better options on the board.

3. DAVID ROBERTSON

The Nats man crush on David Robertson goes back to last year’s Winter Meetings. After trading for Adam Eaton from the Chicago White Sox, Washington worked during the offseason for a deal for Robertson only to see ownership nix it.

With the same problems now as last winter, Robertson is someone the organization is familiar with. They know his strengths and weaknesses as well as their own players.

As the ChiSox drift out of the AL playoff picture, Robertson and others are available for the highest bidder. Between the Eaton deal and the Chris Sale move to Boston, Chicago is swimming with top-shelf prospects and want more.

Robertson has years of experience as a closer. Starting with the New York Yankees, he has held the job the last three seasons with the White Sox.

In 31.1 innings this year, Robertson whiffed 46 for a stunning rate of 13.2 per nine. His WHIP is a solid, but not spectacular, 1.021. He is home run prone, allowing 1.1 per nine and will walk hitters. The 11 allowed include three intentional.

Due $13 million next year, Robertson is not cheap. Not only would the Nats blow through the competitive balance tax limit this year, they would come close next year.

How much salary they take dictates who they give up. There are better options, but Robertson may not bust the farm to get him.

2. ROBERTO OSUNA

The best pure closer potentially on the market, the Toronto Blue Jays will want the Smithsonian along with major prospects if they trade Roberto Osuna.

Under team control the next three seasons—and not a player who would throw the Nats into a tax bracket—Osuna is the dream closer. With 22 saves on the ledger this year in 37 games, he has a stunning 47 strikeouts in 35 innings. Nobody will turn down a pitcher who whiffs batters at a 12.1 K/9 rate.

Nor would they turn away Osuna’s 15.67 K/BB ratio. In 2017, he tossed three walks. Yep, three. Those 22 hits are not shabby, giving him a WHIP of 0.714. Even Max Scherzer would be impressed with those numbers.

There are two catches with Osuna. Would the Blue Jays consider trading a major part of their future? If they do, does Washington have the pieces to land him without moving major-league players? Remember, the Nats depth elsewhere is thinning by the injury.

With playoff experience under his belt, Osuna is no stranger to October. In seven games last season, he did not allow a run. Over nine innings, he fanned 10 and walked no one.

It goes back to how much of the future would Washington gamble to get Osuna. Victor Robles and more would land him. After the high price to lad Eaton last fall, can they afford to do it for Osuna? That is a deal you make if you know you can win it all.

1. RAISEL IGLESIAS

As with everyone else, Raisel Iglesias has a solid resume on a team going nowhere this year. If the Cincinnati Reds move salary before the deadline, there is legit interest in Iglesias.

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Although the price in prospects will be steep, and his salary will put the Nats over the tax budget, Iglesias should not cost Washington more than what Toronto would want for Osuna.

This is Iglesias’ first year at closer. Because the Reds have struggled the last few years, he does not have the playoff experience others do on the list. Paired with starter Scott Feldman, however, the Nats can grab two pitchers for the steep price they will pay anywhere.

Iglesias’ nasty fastball and sinker have turned the converted starter into a closer worth wanting. This year in 42.2 innings, his WHIP of 0.914 and 54 strikeouts make him effective. Those 16 saves help too. With an ERA of 1.69, the Nats potentially have someone who resembles Chapman without paying the same dollar amount.

He tops the list because Cincinnati is more likely to trade Iglesias than Toronto is Osuna. The asking price is nasty. If they choose him, we are talking top prospects and where Washington has future depth. But, he has team control through the rest of the decade and costs less than Robertson in the immediate future.

Next: Chat with Erick Fedde

There are no easy answers and the costs will take years to figure. But, the need for a closer is real and the reward might be an elusive World Series.

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