Although the Washington Nationals have come up pretty frequently so far in free agency rumors for some big names, often times it's the under-the-radar signings and acquisitions that can make a big impact when it matters most.
On Saturday, the Nationals officially got on the board in free agency, bringing in a career minor leaguer that will have a chance to make the Opening Day bullpen in Spring Training. As for who that is? That would be righty reliever Clay Helvey, who has spent his entire professional career in the San Francisco Giants' organization.
While this is not a significant signing in theory, if he was to make the Opening Day bullpen, this could be a move that we look back on as being a nice find by Nationals' General Manager Mike Rizzo. Helvey, who is yet to make his MLB debut, has shown sensational swing-and-miss ability, which could be coveted out of the bullpen for the Nationals.
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%."
Can confirm that the Nationals signed reliever Clay Helvey to a minor league deal w/an invite to big league camp. @BNightengale had it first.
— Andrew Golden (@andrewcgolden) November 10, 2024
Helvey has spent his entire career in the minors with the Giants. A career 4.94 ERA. Had 102 strikeouts this past season.
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.
Although free agency will likely bring another addition or two to the bullpen for the Nationals, the club is likely pretty set in terms of some of the arms that will make up their crop of relievers. Barring a trade, Kyle Finnegan will be the closer, with guys like Jose A. Ferrer, Robert Garcia, Derek Law, Tanner Rainey, and Mason Thompson are all probably locks to make the roster. Other names like Amos Willingham, Eduardo Salazar, Orlando Ribalta, Joe La Sorsa, Cole Henry, Joan Adon, and Zach Brzycky will all likely have a chance to make the club as well, since they are all on the 40-man roster.
While the Nationals will certainly make some more moves in free agency, it's at least encouraging that the club is off to an early start to their offseason.
What do you think about the Nationals signing Clay Helvey? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.