The Nats Reliever Who Laid Down the Law This Season

Another year of the classic rebuild. Coming with a rebuild, comes the array of random relief pitchers signed in spring training to compete for an Opening Day roster spot. Pitchers like Richard Bleier, Matt Barnes, Luke Farrell, Adonis Medina, Luis Perdomo, and of course, Derek Law, were all given a shot to make the roster out of spring training, signing minor league deals and coming off subpar seasons, if they were even at the major league level. 

Derek Law, signed to a deal on February 21st on the eve of Spring Training needed to have a strong spring to crack the roster. Law pitched in 6 games, allowing 2 runs, instilling enough confidence in Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez to give him a spot along with Matt Barnes, as injuries created two open spots. We all know how the Matt Barnes stint went, pitching to an ERA of 6.75 before being DFA’d after 14 appearances, but not only did Law make it through the whole season, but Law arguably was the best reliever on the team. 

Drafted in the 9th round of the 2011 draft by the San Fransisco Giants out of Miami Dade College, Law had a very successful start to his minor league career, reaching double-A by 2014 and posting high strikeout numbers along with racking up saves in the lower minor leagues. Law then hit his first hurdle, going under the knife for Tommy John surgery in 2014 before returning in June 2015. Beginning the 2016 season in Triple-A, Law was quickly called up, replacing the injured Giants legend Sergio Romo. After an elite rookie season at the big league level in 2016 pitching to a 2.13 ERA and 2.53 FIP in 55 innings, Law struggled with the Giants in 2017 and 2018 before being DFA’d, and later being picked up by the Blue Jays in 2019. After struggling once again in 2019, Law did not reach the major leagues in 2020 and was looking for a new home in 2021. Continuing his inconsistency in 2021-2022, Law pitched in only 26 games combined with the Twins, Tigers, and Reds, before settling into his role and becoming a regular in the Reds bullpen in 2023. To his credit, Law made the most of that opportunity. 

Posting a 3.60 ERA in Cincinnati over 55 innings should warrant a major league contract heading into 2024, but Law settled on the minor league deal in Washington. Law had a power cutter but was a pitch-to-contact pitcher, with the ability to pitch multiple innings when necessary. His flexibility and relatively even splits allowed Davey to put confidence in Law early, and Law delivered.

Pitching in a career-high 75 games in 2024, Law registered career high in innings pitched with 90, strikeouts with 76, and a dazzling 2.60 ERA. The strikeout numbers were lower than you would like out of a high-leverage reliever, but Law provided tremendous value with going multiple innings on numerous occasions and crossing the 90 innings mark, a first for a Nationals reliever since Tyler Clippard in 2010. He always took the ball and was used in a multitude of roles, from mop-up duty to set-up man, and even closing a game on July 4th after Jake Irvin went 8 shutout innings with only 1 hit allowed. Miraculously enough, Law was able to cross the 90-inning threshold even after a two-week IL stint in August. Passing the eye test, Law put up his best numbers since his 2016 rookie season and will be looking to cash in this offseason during the arbitration process. The now 34-year-old may have put together one of the most random dominant relief seasons in quite some time, but he has the numbers to back up his tremendous run. 

With a rare 6-pitch mix for a reliever, Law threw his cutter 37.9% of the time, the slider 30% of the time, four-seam fastball 13.6% of the time, sinker 9.8% of the time, change up 5.1% of the time, and a curveball 3.6% of the time. The cutter and slider combination were his two best pitches, with his slider actually ranking as one of the most valuable pitches according to run value in the major leagues. Law was 96th percentile in chase rate, 96th percentile in barrel rate, and ranked at least in the 64th percentile in nine out of the twelve major pitching categories via Baseball Savant. Not only was Law a surprise to make the roster, but he was surprisingly very good. 

I am always a sucker for guys like Derek Law. A 34-year-old journeyman reliever who finally put together a fantastic season, when it was least expected. Overall, Law was the 36th most valuable relief pitcher in baseball according to Fangraphs, and is seemingly a lock to make the Opening Day roster next year. Time will tell if this season proved to be an Erasmo Ramirez-level fluke, or if Law can continue to produce into the future.