The Washington Nationals are wasting no time in bolstering their bullpen ahead of the 2019 season as they finalize a deal for Trevor Rosenthal.
After their bullpen seemed to flail late in 2018, the Washington Nationals are clearly making it a priority this offseason. According to reports, they are finalizing a deal to bring in former St. Louis Cardinals closer, Trevor Rosenthal.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported the two sides were finalizing the deal on Wednesday afternoon. Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports then reported that it could still take a few days to become official while they wait for him to pass a physical though.
The move comes not too long after the team acquired Kyle Barraclough from the Miami Marlins to act a bridge to Sean Doolittle. Now, they appear to get Rosenthal as a high-upside option who can also help get the ball to their dominant closer.
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Rosenthal last pitched in the big leagues at the start of the 2017 season before having Tommy John Surgery, which has forced him to sit out until now. There are no details about the contract yet, but you would think it will be a short-term major league contract as he hopes to re-establish himself.
In parts of six seasons in the majors, he’s accumulated 121 saves, with a 2.99 ERA and had a 12.0 K/9 in that time. He’s known as a flamethrower, as his fastball has averaged 98.2 mph at the highest level, and has also been known to hit triple digits frequently in the past.
The right-hander held a workout on October 3rd to showcase to teams that his arm was back to full strength again. According to FanRag’s Jon Heyman, he was consistently touching 98 mph with his fastball and hit 100 mph at least once in the workout. Evidently, he impressed the Nats enough in that workout to secure a deal.
The Nationals are known for how well they’ve previously helped pitchers come back from TJ Surgery. Stephen Strasburg is the most notable, but even recently, Joe Ross has come back successfully from the procedure this year, and now they’ll hope to have the same effect of Rosenthal.
Obviously, the surgery presents some risk that he may not quite be the same pitcher that he was before. However, assuming the deal isn’t high-cost, then it could turn out to be a bargain for the Nats if he even comes close to the dominant reliever that he was for the majority of his time with the Cardinals.
Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo has wasted no time this offseason, clearly determined to get his team back on top. Trevor Rosenthal could prove to be a huge pickup for the team if he can find his pre-surgery form.