Washington Nationals: Nats Trade for Old Nemesis Hunter Strickland

The Washington Nationals made one of the most surprising moves at the trade deadline by signing former Giants relief pitcher Hunter Strickland.

When the Washington Nationals bullpen as bad as it is, even enemies can be turned into allies.  On Wednesday, the Nationals completed a trade with the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher Hunter Strickland.

If that name sounds familiar to Nationals fans, it is because he had a bad history with former Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.

After Harper took Strickland deep twice in the 2014 National League Division Series, Strickland waited nearly three years to retaliate.  In 2017, Strickland hit Harper with a 98 mile per hour pitch squarely in the hip, and Harper responded by throwing his helmet and charging the mound.  Both benches cleared and both players earned suspensions.

Now, the Nats are letting bygones be bygones and are bringing Strickland onto their team.

Strickland is a flamethrowing pitcher with a fastball in the upper 90’s that pairs with a slider and changeup.  Despite his high velocity, Strickland isn’t a strikeout pitcher, fanning only 22.6% of batters in his career.

In his career, Strickland has posted a 2.98 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP.  However, it is important to note that Strickland had played the majority of his games in AT&T Park when he was a member of the San Francisco Giants.  AT&T Park is one of the best pitcher’s parks in all of baseball while Nationals Park, especially in the summer, plays like a hitter’s park.

There is additional uncertainty regarding Strickland due to a strained right lat muscle injury he suffered in early April.  He was taken off of the 60-day Injured List just last week and has pitched only 3.1 innings in 2019.

The Nats had to give up some notable prospects for Strickland (and Roenis Elias), including Elvis Alvarado, Aaron Fletcher, and Taylor Guilbeau.  However, Strickland and Elias are not rental players.  Both are controllable through 2021.

This trade for the Nationals has the most upside of the three because of Strickland’s track record.  Strickland, at his best, can be the eighth inning set up man the Nats have yearned for all season.