There's not a ton of spots currently locked down in Washington's bullpen. On paper, it would appear that Kyle Finnegan, Jorge Lopez and Derek Law will play key roles from the right side, while Jose A. Ferrer will be their ace left-handed reliever. Beyond that, it may be anyone's guess.
There's a chance that this leaves room for a breakout Spring Training performer to crack the Opening Day roster. Thus far, there may not be a better such candidate than Cole Henry.
If you don't recognize that name, it's because he hasn't made his MLB debut, and hasn't even pitched a full season's worth of innings as a professional yet. But if you are familiar with Cole Henry, it's because he was the Nationals' second round pick in 2020 from LSU and among their consensus top handful of prospects.
Over the course of his career, Henry has recorded a 3.30 ERA with an outstanding .191 batting avergae allowed and more than 11 strikouts per nine innings. if it weren't for a somewhat elevated walk rate, his statline would look nothing short of spectacular.
Of course, the downside is a lenghty list of injuries, including elbow ailments in 2021 and 2022 leading to Thoracic Outlet Surgery (TOS), to go along with a lat strain in 2024. TOS is well known to often be the nail in the coffin for pitchers, but Henry's career is still alive - even if it's only hanging by a thread.
Henry's recent series of health scares hasn't stopped him this spring. After a five-out appearance on Tuesday, he is up to 4.2 scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. However, the injuries have turned Henry into a relief pitcher now.
Strictly in terms of ability, Henry is pretty clearly good enough to open the season in the majors. he was also added to the 40-man roster this offseason to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. That doesn't mean he won't open the season in the minors, though.
In some sense, his situation is similar to what I recently said about Robert Hassell III. Although he's playing well and was added to the 40-man, he likely won't find himself in a better position than first man on standby in Triple-A, waiting for an injury to take place.
On the other hand, performance has seldom been a concern for Henry. his only trouble has been health. So, might it be more logical to let him pitch in the majors?
Think about it. Rather than having him waste what might be a limited number of bullets in the minors, why not take advantage of every pitch he's able to throw going forward? What does he really have left to prove, from a production perspective?
If he keeps looking this dominant this spring, the best option might truly be to put Henry on the major league roster. Perhaps they'll have to be careful about his usage, but that would be true no matter what level he pitches at. Why not let him do it at the highest level?
What do you think the Nationals should do with Cole Henry? Let me know @stephen_newman1 on X.