Washington Nationals: Predicting what their 12 free agents will do

Brandon Kintzler

Much of the Nats’ second half success came thanks to the “law firm” in the back-end of the bullpen. While Sean Doolittle gets most of the attention for being the closer, Brandon Kintzler played an enormous role after joining the Nats.

Kintzler was named an American League All-Star after converting 28 of his 32 save opportunities with the Minnesota Twins before joining the Nats. After the trade, Kintzler took on the seventh inning in more of a set-up role.

Some relievers would struggle with this transition, but Kintzler handled it flawlessly. With the Nats, he pitched to a 3.46 ERA in 27 appearances, and did an excellent job of bridging the gap to Ryan Madson and Doolittle.

Now a free agent, the Nats should definitely attempt to bring him back. Knowing that Kintzler, Madson, and Doolittle would successfully hold late-inning leads was an amazing feeling, and a feeling not familiar to Nats fans.

However, it may be difficult to re-sign Kintzler. He was an excellent closer with the Twins, and another team will likely give him an opportunity to be their closer. Unfortunately, the Nats cannot offer this, since Doolittle has the closer’s job locked down.

If the Nats are willing to pay Kintzler closer money, he may re-sign. However, the Nats are probably not willing to pay him that much to pitch the seventh.