The Washington Nationals are going to be in the market for a back of the rotation starter. They are every year. In previous years, Anibal Sanchez and Jon Lester have been brought in, with varying levels of success. The year in between, in house solutions were used in Austin Voth and Erick Fedde.
Behind Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, and Josiah Gray, there are no locks for the rotation. Paolo Espino will get a look. Josh Rogers will get a look. Fedde will get his annual tryout. There are a few guys to be had cheap or on minor league contracts who can come in and eat innings, while providing some stability for the rotation.
A team can never have too much starting pitching. While the Nats won’t be in the market for the services of Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke, there are a few names out there which are intriguing.
3 pitchers the Nationals should consider for the back of the starting rotation.
Chris Archer
Past his prime, oft-injured, nothing left in the tank. All three of these have been murmured about Chris Archer. He didn’t pitch in 2020 because of injury and only appeared in six games in 2021. In those games he was under a strict pitch limit, going more than sixty pitches just one time.
There were signs (albeit brief) Archer could still be the pitcher which earned him two All-Star nods earlier in his career. His pitching coach during that time frame was Jim Hickey. This past year with the Rays, Archer struck out more batters than innings pitched and aside from one outing, had great control, and a solid strike/ball ratio.
Bringing Archer in to reunite with his old pitching coach may bring a resurrection or sorts for the right hander. Nationals general manager, Mike Rizzo, has shown he isn’t afraid to sign pitchers off the scrap heap. Archer fits this bill and is worth a look.