With just a month left until Spring Training, the Nationals roster is beginning to take shape. The Nationals have added new names to every area of the roster, so now is a good time to familiarize ourselves with the current state of the team, beginning with the bullpen.
1. The Newcomers
The Nationals signed RHP Jorge Lopez to a 1-year, $3M deal to fill the setup role, if not to become the closer. They also selected Evan Reifert during the Rule 5 draft out of the Tampa Bay Rays organization to help bolster the organizational pitching depth. The team also added some other relief pitchers by picking them up off waivers or signing them to minor league deals.
2. Players no longer on the roster
The Nationals moved on from 2024 All-Star closer Kyle Finnegan during the offseason, seemingly over how much he would receive in arbitration. They also dealt LHP Robert Garcia for 1B Nathaniel Lowe, leaving them without their most reliable lefty coming out of the bullpen. Amos Willingham, who made one appearance in 2024, was designated for assignment as the corresponding 40-man roster move for signing Jorge Lopez as another bullpen arm.
3. Projected Opening Day Bullpen
RHP: Jorge Lopez, Derek Law, Evan Reifert, Eduardo Salazar, Orlando Ribalta
LHP: Jose Ferrer, Joe La Sorsa
In short, the Nationals' bullpen for 2025 is shaping up to be a unit with a lot of unproven but talented arms. While I could still see another signing or two before Spring Training begins, for now this is what we have to work with.
The battle for who will get the ball in the 9th inning will be an interesting one considering the names on the roster. Jessica Camerato, the Nationals' beat reporter for MLB Network predicted recently that the job would go to young lefty Jose A. Ferrer, but that was before the team signed righty Jorge López to a 1-year deal last weekend.
What this bullpen unit is really lacking is late-game, high-leverage experience, but hopefully the young arms will be able to get some extremely valuable experience in some higher leverage situations so that whenever the time comes for the club to actually be serious again, they will be more proven and be unafraid of the moment. Especially for guys like Ferrer, Reifert, Salazar, and Ribalta, who figure to be apart of the bullpen for the foreseeable future, the experience they will gain this year is imperative.