Washington Nationals: Nats Should Use An Opener
The Washington Nationals must change their bullpen. Somehow, some way. If the personnel won’t change, how about the way the relievers are used?
The Washington Nationals bullpen is a dumpster fire. A catastrophe. A disaster. Pick whichever word you’d like.
The hopes of signing Craig Kimbrel are long gone. Manager Davey Martinez has repeatedly said that he is going to keep working with the guys he has.
Obviously, that has been a complete and utter failure.
If the Nats were going to address their bullpen in a significant way, it would have occured by now.
Something must change. If it’s not the players on the roster, then how about the way those players are employed?
One strategy the Nationals should consider using is the opener.
The concept of an “opener” in baseball is relatively new. The Tampa Bay Rays first employed it last season, and they won 90 games. This season, they have 23 wins which are the most in Major League Baseball.
The logic behind using an opener is to delay the “third time around” phenomenon for starting pitchers, as well as letting an effective relief pitcher throw to the top of the opposing team’s order.
By getting the top 3-5 hitters in a lineup out with a relief pitcher, it sets the “starting” pitcher up exceptionally well for the rest of the game.
The Nationals have guys that can go more than one inning. Joe Ross, Wander Suero, and Doolittle are all capable of throwing 20-30 effective pitches.
In fact, using Doolittle against a predominantly left-handed team, such as the New York Mets, might be a great idea when Jeremy Hellickson or Anibal Sanchez start a game.
Assuming a Doolittle and Hellickson/Sanchez combination gets through seven innings, Martinez can play matchup ball for the eighth inning and potentially send Kyle Barraclough out for the save in the ninth.
There is honestly no reason for the Nationals not to try using an opener. The worst case scenario is the Nats keep doing what they have been doing, which is lose games because of the bullpen.
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The best case scenario is that the Nats find a temporary solution for the bullpen and pick up a few more wins. There is still a lot wrong with this team, but the bullpen is the first problem to fix. Using an opener can only help the current situation.