Although the Washington Nationals almost got no-hit by the Athletics on Saturday night, they were able to bounce back in a huge way on Sunday afternoon. Backed by stellar pitching from All-Star lefty Foster Griffin, the Nationals did not even have to leave a close game in the hands of their bullpen, which we all know has dealt with struggles this season.
Perhaps even better was that Dylan Crews, who has also had his fair share of ups and downs this season, homered as part of a back-to-back sequence with CJ Abrams, and hopefully can regain some confidence back. As for others who might need to regain some confidence, the Nationals actually just brought back a guy who needs to do just that.
Nationals re-sign Matt Krook to major league deal after previous DFA
Anyone who has paid a lick of attention to the Nationals not only for the 2026 season but for years previously as well, would be able to tell you about the continuous struggles of the bullpen. Lefty PJ Poulin will be hitting the 15-day Injured List with a left flexor strain, and he joins a list of several Nationals pitchers that have dealt with being nicked up throughout this season.
With fellow lefty Richard Lovelady also expected to be out for a bit longer, the team transferred him to the 60-day IL to clear space on the team's 40-man roster. But who were they clearing the room for? That would be lefty Matt Krook, who seemed like his tenure on the Nationals was over just a couple days ago. He is now back in the fold with the Nationals needing more lefties in their bullpen besides Carson Palmquist and Tom Cosgrove, who are also both newer arms.
After being claimed off waivers from the Athletics earlier this month, Krook had a brutal start to his Nationals tenure during their series against the Yankees. Sandwiched in between a scoreless outing against the Houston Astros and the Yankees was a disaster outing in which Krook only recorded 1 out, giving up 2 hits and 2 earned runs, most notably of which was a dramatic, go-ahead homer to Jazz Chisholm as part of the Yankees' sweep of the Nationals.
Hopefully, Krook's second stint within the Nationals' organization will be a fruitful one, as it can't really get a ton worse than his first attempt.
What do you think of the Nationals deciding to bring back Matt Krook? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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