3 players Nationals need more from in second half of season
Tanner Rainey
What happened to Tanner Rainey? He’s injured now, with a stress reaction to the right tibia, though was this causing his issues before he went on the Injured List?
After being acquired in an offseason trade from the Cincinnati Reds, Rainey quickly earned the trust of manager Davey Martinez. Rainey pitched well during the Nationals run to the World Series in ’19 and even better in the pandemic shortened season of 2020. He had a K/9 of 14 and an ERA of 2.66, leading some to believe he may battle for the closer role in spring training.
Then the Nationals signed Brad Hand. No problem, the Nationals would pair Rainey with Daniel Hudson for a seventh-eighth inning bridge to Hand.
From day one, when Rainey gave up two earned runs, he has struggled to contribute in a positive way. He’s had stretches where he’s given up too many hits. He’s had stretches where he has struggled with control. He’s had stretches where the Nationals have used him when they shouldn’t have.
Prior to landing on the Injured List, Rainey was starting to figure it out. He had scoreless outings in nine of his last ten appearances, lowering his ERA from 10.57 to 6.93.
Highest Whiff% on four-seam fastballs since 6/3* (min 100 pitches)
— James Schiano (@James_Schiano) July 8, 2021
1. Trevor May 49.1
2. Luis Castillo 44.8
3. Brad Boxberger 41.2
4. Devin Williams 39.4
5. Yu Darvish 38.9
6. Max Scherzer 38.0
7. Tyler Wells 36.5
8. Tanner Rainey 36.5
9. Phil Maton 36.1
10. Paul Sewald 35.9
Every night Nationals hitters need to get 27 outs to walk away winners. Counting on Rainey to get three of them without giving up any runs, is a necessity. While there is no timetable for his return, when he does get back, the Nationals are counting on him to regain his pre-2021 form.