District On Deck
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6 biggest questions for Nationals entering the offseason

By Jake Mastroianni

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Strasburg #37, Kurt Suzuki #28, Ryan Zimmerman #11, Anthony Rendon #6 and Howie Kendrick #47 of the Washington Nationals meet on the mound during the seventh inning of game three of the National League Championship Series at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 14: Stephen Strasburg #37, Kurt Suzuki #28, Ryan Zimmerman #11, Anthony Rendon #6 and Howie Kendrick #47 of the Washington Nationals meet on the mound during the seventh inning of game three of the National League Championship Series at Nationals Park on October 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
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WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 26: Fernando  Rodney #56 of the Washington Nationals reacts against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning in Game Four of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on October 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – OCTOBER 26: Fernando  Rodney #56 of the Washington Nationals reacts against the Houston Astros during the seventh inning in Game Four of the 2019 World Series at Nationals Park on October 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Can they fix the bullpen

The Nationals were a great team in 2020, good enough to make the postseason and win the World Series, and they did all that in spite of having a terrible bullpen — like historically bad.

They finished the regular season with a league-worst bullpen ERA of 5.66.

And despite using some starters out of the bullpen in the postseason, they still had a bullpen ERA near five.

The front office has to find a way to address this issue in the offseason to avoid a similar fate.

Sean Doolittle has a $6.5 million team option that will almost certainly be picked up as he has been one of their more trusted relievers.

Hunter Strickland, Joe Ross, Javy Guerra, Wander Suero, and Tanner Rainey will all be back and could figure into the plan for the bullpen.

The only real loss is Daniel Hudson — some might say Fernando Rodney, but not this guy.

Whether big or little, there have to be some moves made this offseason to try and improve the bullpen before the start of the 2020 season.

That is certainly something we’ll be following closely and looking at as the free agent and trade markets take shape this offseason for the Washington Nationals.

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