It's no secret that the Washington Nationals bullpen was historically bad in 2026. While I've made it clear that I don't think the blown saves record is nearly as damning as some might make it out to be, reinforcements are warranted. There's not a ton of truly elite closer-ish targets on the market this coming offseason, but it's rife with rebound candidates who had tough years or missed most or all of 2026 with injury.
Worth noting - this is just a small sample of people the Nats could hypothetically go after. There will also be a few nontender candidates from around the league for rebound purposes, and a few teams will also look to shed payroll or sell high on their own relievers, much as the Nationals have done the last few years. We'll talk more about those as the offseason progresses.
5 free agent relievers the Nationals should target this offseason
The big dollar arms
There's only two real arms on the market who figure to lock down the closer role on whatever team they join. The Nationals figure to be in pursuit for a true closer, even if they don't land one of the two. They're the most obvious candidates for that spot.
Adrián Morejón
Adrián Morejón, if you're not aware, is a monster. The 27-year-old lefty out of Cuba is completing his third-straight campaign with 60+ appearances. He features four pitches, all of which are elite, and his strikeout rate topped 30% for the first time in his career this year. That coincided with a huge velo bump--after sitting about 97.5 the last two years, he jumped to 99.5 MPH on his sinker this year. That also spiked his groundball rate to an outrageous 58%. It really all came together this year for Morejón, who, when considering his age and his body of work, figures to get a significant free agent deal.
There's a question whether he's prepared to enter a bona fide closer role. It wouldn't diminish his value if he's not a 9th-inning-exclusive guy by any means, but it might influence his market. Morejón the last two years has been a 6th, 7th, and 8th-inning option largely for the Padres, as he's served in setup roles to Mason Miller and Robert Suárez. That's allowed him to make 44 appearances recording four or more outs in the regular season since 2025. It's obviously a unique advantage for him to have, but it also shifts his potential usage if teams view him as more of a fireman in the late innings before a proper closer. Just something to keep an eye on.
David Bednar
Besides a one-year blip in 2024 where his performance crumbled, David Bednar's been among the most reliable closers in the sport since the Pirates acquired him in 2021. This year wasn't different, and in fact was some of his best work when viewed at through the lens of win probability - his 34-6 shutdown-to-meltdown record was the second best of his career.
There are a couple points of concern, though. Bednar's fastball Stuff+ topped 111 or better every year from 2023 to 2025, but it dipped to 105 this year. He also lost a full tick of velocity on that four-seamer, which he throws 41% of the time. His other pitches - his splitter and curveball - haven't seen much diminution, but at 32 years old, if Bednar's fastball velo starts trending downward, it's going to eventually have a measurable impact on the splitter's ability to play off of it.
Bednar's groundball rate did eclipse 50% for the first time in his career this year after historically being a flyball pitcher. That might neutralize some of the effects of his diminished velocity if he's able to keep it up going forward. He's still going to command a multi-year deal in free agency.
Potential bang-for-your-buck options
Several other relief arms on the market are intriguing but likely don't command the higher-dollar price tags that Morejón and Bednar will. Some are more reclamation projects or bounceback candidates, but we'll call them a little more "under-the-radar" for these purposes.
A.J. Puk
It's been one frustrating setback after another for left-hander A.J. Puk, acquired by Arizona from Miami at the 2024 trade deadline as Arizona looked to return to the Postseason following a World Series run. Since then, he suffered a flexor strain in his throwing arm halfway into April of 2025, tried to make a return without surgery, then underwent Tommy John surgery in June. Trying to make a return on rehab assignment, he sprained a capsule in his shoulder in June of 2026. If Puk is on an Opening Day roster, his first time in game action will be his first appearance in the majors in nearly two years.
Puk will be 32 next year, but when he's been active in the majors, he's been exceptional. In three full seasons with Miami and Arizona from 2022 to 2024, he logged a 3.38 ERA and 3.36 FIP, striking out 242 batters in under 200 innings with a 21.8 K-BB%. That's what makes him such an interesting target in free agency. The question is whether or not that version of A.J. Puk exists anymore. After two years off, we have basically no idea of what a healthy Puk looks like. We'll see if the Nationals are interested in taking a chance on it.
Bryan Abreu
Bryan Abreu being a "bounceback candidate" or "reclamation project" would have been an unthinkable concept in 2025. The then-28-year-old was wrapping up a season where he had the best ratio of shutdowns to meltdowns in his career, with an elite 25.0 K-BB% and career-high 2.2 FanGraphs WAR.
That all came crumbling down in the first half of the season. In May his fastball velocity, which was 97-98 in 2025, was down to 94.4. By the end of May, his K-BB% for the season was an unfathomable 1.1%. He did recover, though: from July through the end of the year, he rebounded to a very respectable 21.3 K-BB%, and the average fastball velocity came back up to 96.4 MPH. It's still a troubling aberration for Abreu, who frequently topped 99.0 MPH the past four years but reached it just twice in 2026 without touching triple-digits once.
The right-hander will be 30 next season, and will hit free agency for the first time after signing with the Astros all the way back in 2013. Whatever team signs him will likely have some work to do to unlock his pre-2026 form.
Evan Phillips
Evan Phillips of the Dodgers is an interesting case because it's possible the bounce-back has already been completed on his part. After breaking out as a key part of Los Angeles' backend bullpen in 2022, the righty Phillips had two more strong years before an elbow injury in May of 2025 eventually necessitated Tommy John surgery. The team didn't tender him a contract for 2026 but went on to re-sign him, and he was reinstated in July, 13 months after his surgery.
In some regards, Phillips looked as good in the second half of 2026 as he did when he broke out in 2022. His 25.5 K-BB% is only eclipsed by that 2022 campaign, and the 97.4 MPH average velocity he saw on his four-seamer in September of this year was the highest average he'd gotten on it in a month for his entire career. Phillips features three fastballs plus a sweeper, and all four pitches have seen their Stuff+ marks recover to their pre-surgery forms. It's a remarkable comeback for the 32-year-old who will likely be hotly coveted when he hits the open market after the Dodgers are done in the Postseason, whether that's by way of elimination or championship.
The fact of the matter is that the Nationals do have options. They traded for a ton of arms at the deadline this year, several of whom are dedicated relievers. Reinforcements might be able to come from all sides. You should remember that simply "spending money" isn't as effective at bolstering a bullpen as it is other parts of the roster, but if the Nationals give money to the right guys, they could build a sneaky good relief core in 2027. We'll have more pieces about other options coming out throughout the offseason.
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