Washington Nationals: Finding a closer on the open market
After the rocky season Daniel Hudson had, I think it is fair to say the Washington Nationals should be looking to bolster the back end of the bullpen in free agency.
When was the last time the Washington Nationals had a true closer for the entirety of his stay with the team? Let’s backtrack a little.
Sean Doolittle lost his job to Daniel Hudson. Jonathon Papelbon took the closer’s role from Drew Storen, then gave way to Mark Melancon. Storen took over for Rafael Soriano mid-season. In 2012 Tyler Clippard was your closer, but so was Henry Rodriguez, and Drew Storen, and Brad Lidge. Matt Capps had the reins for a while, but then Storen took his job as well. Does anyone else feel like the Nationals played head games with Drew Storen? What about the Jon Rauch/Joel Hanrahan duo, you remember that?
Going all the way back to 2005, I think Chad “The Chief” Cordero is the only closer to legitimately end his tenure with the Nationals in the same role he started in. He may have held the title longer too, had an injury not derailed his career.
Hudson did well with the job in the World Series year, though stumbled quite a bit this past season. He had five blown saves and an ERA of 6.10 and while he was “the man” in 2019, Hudson doesn’t have a track record as a closer. I like Daniel Hudson and want him to be a part of the bullpen next season, just in a different role.
While I do think the Washington Nationals have their closer of the future on the roster in Tanner Rainey, I think we can look at a few of the options on the free agent market as well.
Sean Doolittle
Why not start with the guy who is most familiar with the position, right? I’ve put Sean Doolittle on this list as a token thank you to a closer who helped guide the Washington Nationals to their first World Series. He may not have been on the mound closing out games at the end of the year, though his two and a half years prior with the Nationals built up to the moment.
After losing the closer’s role (I guess we shouldn’t call him “the incumbent”), he battled injuries and ineffectiveness. His job in the bullpen was never clearly stated, other than he was no longer the Fireman.
Doolittle will enter free agency after the team friendly contract (7 YRS/$22.5M) he signed with the Oakland A’s expires after the season.
He has 111 career saves with an ERA a shade over 3.00, and nine years experience of pitching in high leverage situations.
In my mind the Nationals have little interest in bringing Doolittle back to be the closer, and hopefully Doolittle will earn closer-type money (or close to it) from somebody else. Having recently turned 34 years-old he is probably looking at his last long contract, something in the range of three years. I hope he finds it, just not in Washington.
Liam Hendricks
We can think of this guy as a more dominant version of Daniel Hudson. Much like Hudson, Liam Hendricks was a starting pitcher before making his way to the bullpen. He was also just a bullpen guy before taking over the duties of a closer.
In the last year and a half as the stopper for the Oakland A’s, Hendricks has saved 39 games and made an All-Star team. In back to back years he has posted an ERA of 1.80 or less.
Hendricks is currently a hot commodity with several teams interested in his services. The New York Yankees are rumored to be in play. The Houston Astros are looking for a veteran presence at the back of their bullpen with Roberto Osuna’s future in question, and Ryan Pressly struggling in his new role.
I do see Hendricks as a potential fit for the Washington Nationals depending on what they are going to do with Tanner Rainey long term. If they are willing to give the keys to Rainey at some point soon, bringing Hendricks in doesn’t make much sense.
He’ll turn 32 prior to next season, though Hendricks should be able to score a three year deal as well. The price tag may be more than the Nationals are willing to spend, knowing Rainey is waiting in the wings.
Shane Greene
Let’s say the Washington Nationals are willing to make Tanner Rainey the closer, they just want to groom him for the position rather than install him from day one. Shane Greene would be a perfect addition.
Greene currently serves as a setup man for the Atlanta Braves. He does have closing experience, a former All-Star with the Detroit Tigers as their ninth-inning guy.
As the setup man in Atlanta this year Greene had nine holds with a 2.60 earned run average. He pitched in the eighth inning or later in nearly 70% of the games he appeared in. He has not given up an earned run in his postseason appearances to date.
Even though he has closing experience, he has been away from the role for a year and a half (this may hurt Doolittle’s earning power as well). If the Nationals were to offer a sweetened one-year deal with an option on a second year they could land this guy. He could close for a year and then transition into a setup role when (if) Rainey is ready to take the job.
You may say, why would the Nationals need the second year, Will Harris is the setup guy. I am still not sold Harris plays out his contract in a Nationals uniform.
Depending on what direction the Nationals want to go, I think Greene is a good fit.
Alex Colome
The Washington Nationals have loved the idea of acquiring Alex Colome in a trade for several years now. Last year the Nationals went with Daniel Hudson and in 2017 the team chose to acquire Sean Doolittle. Any time the words “Nationals” and “trading for a closer” appear in the same sentence, Alex Colome’s name pops up.
Well, now the Nationals don’t have to part with any trade chips, they just need to fork over a lot of money to secure the services of Colome.
Of the closers listed in the piece today, Colome has the longest track record. He spent the last two years on the South Side of Chicago, locking down games for the White Sox. Prior to that he was an All-Star closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, saving a league best 47 games in 2017.
Colome will be looking for a long deal as well and could land something around the numbers Mark Melancon signed when he inked a 4 YR/$62M deal after leaving the Nationals four years ago. Colome shouldn’t get this figure, especially with the economic climate the league is in now, though he could approach this money. In 21 games this year Colome had an ERA of 0.81.
If the Nationals are going to spend money on a closer this offseason, Colome is the best bet. I would be all for reallocating those funds to a different area (outfielder, first baseman) and letting Tanner Rainey take what is his.