The Nationals have signed a pair of relievers to bolster the bullpen

After not making any free agency moves during the 2024 Winter Meetings despite reported interest in players like Gleyber Torres, the Washington Nationals have signed a pair of relievers to Minor League deals, and both players will have a chance to make the club out of Spring Training.

The first of the two names is a somewhat familiar face, in righty Clay Helvey. Despite the club signing him earlier this offseason, the transaction became official on Thursday, with the club reporting the signing. As Spencer Nusbaum of the Washington Post noted on X, the "selling point on Helvey: the K/9 (12.35) & swing and miss on his slider. Though he doesn’t throw it a TON, per TruMedia, only two other pitchers in Triple-A missed a higher percentage of bats with his slider (min 100 sliders) than Helvey’s 56.4%."

As I stated in that article just over a month ago, "the fact that he was able to strike out 102 batters in just 41 appearances and 71.1 innings down in the minors this past year shows that there is something in there for Helvey, although his 1.35 WHIP will need to be cleaned up if he wants to make the Nationals' bullpen going into next season." He could factor into what figures to be a remade Nationals bullpen in 2025.

The other signing is a guy who has actually made his MLB debut already, and has made appearances in parts of two seasons. In 2022 for the Cleveland Guardians, Konnor Pilkington pitched for the club both as a starter and as a reliever. He had a solid 3.88 ERA in his 15 appearances and 11 starts that season, but had a subpar 1.466 WHIP and was worth -0.1 WAR for the season. He struck out 50 batters in 58.0 innings but also allowed 32 walks, meaning that his control was not great overall.

In 2023, Pilkington only appeared in 1 game, pitching out of the bullpen and allowing just 1 hit in 2.0 clean innings. The Guardians traded him in May of that season to the Arizona Diamondbacks for cash considerations, but he never got an opportunity to pitch for the big league club. He would struggle down in AAA for the Diamondbacks and would eventually become a free agent following the 2024 season.

Now with the Nationals, he could also earn an opportunity in the remade Nationals bullpen for next season, especially since he's a lefty. Currently, the club is set to roll with Robert Garcia and Jose A. Ferrer as their lefties out of the bullpen, and perhaps Pilkington could find himself as part of that equation as well.

What do you think of these signings for the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.