It is no secret that the Washington Nationals need bullpen help. The Nats 5.59 bullpen ERA was comfortably the worst in baseball. However, most of the top free agent relievers have already found new homes. To improve the bullpen, Paul Toboni is going to have to find diamonds in the rough rather than signing proven commodities. Here are five potential hidden gems he could explore.
The first name I want to explore is a guy Nationals fans should know. Ironically it is because the Nats seem to have a ton
of success whenever they face this pitcher. That would be Ryne Stanek, who spent last season with the Mets. On the surface, Stanek’s numbers look unimpressive, but I think he would be a worthwhile project.
In each of the last three seasons, Stanek has posted an ERA over 4. At 34 years old, Stanek had his worst season in 2025, posting a 5.30 ERA. So why would he be an interesting option for the Nats? Well, his stuff is still very good and there are a few tweaks that could be made.
Last season, Stanek threw his fastball over 57% of the time despite allowing a lot of damage on the pitch. His fastball is a quality offering, averaging 98.5 MPH with good life. However, the pitch got overexposed and hitters were able to sit on it. Stanek has a good slider and splitter, he just did not throw them enough.
The Nats could do what the Tigers did with Kyle Finnegan and just have him throw fewer fastballs. Stanek’s slider was by far his best pitch last year, but he only threw it 21% of the time. He should be throwing it a lot more, especially to right handed hitters. With that adjustment, Stanek could be a valuable member of a Nats bullpen. He has experience in high leverage roles and has been very durable in his career, making at least 55 appearances in every non-COVID season since 2018.
The next pitcher I want to talk about is also a former Met in Drew Smith. He is a player fans might have forgotten about because he has missed most of the last two seasons following Tommy John Surgery. However, from 2021 to 2023, Smith was a reliable option out of the Mets bullpen. He was pitching well in 2024 as well before he got hurt.
Reports indicate that Smith should be ready to enter 2026. Paul Toboni will have to do his due diligence about how Smith looks following the surgery, but if the stuff has not diminished, he is an interesting option. Before getting hurt, Smith had a strong fastball, cutter, slider combination. He generates plenty of whiffs on all of those pitches.
Smith has his flaws though. His control can be suspect and when he does allow contact, it tends to be hard contact. However, his swing and miss stuff gives him a home in a big league bullpen. He has a career 3.48 ERA and if he can bring those results to DC, Nats fans will be thrilled.
Since Paul Toboni came from Boston, it is only natural that I include a former Red Sox arm on this list. That arm would be Josh Winckowski. At 27 years old, Winckowski is comfortably the youngest player on this list. He also has a history of big league success.
Winckowski was fantastic in 2023, posting a 2.88 ERA in 60 appearances spanning 84.1 innings. He took a step back in 2024, but was still decent, posting a 4.14 ERA in 76 innings. Last year was an injury riddled campaign for Winckowski, who dealt with elbow issues. He should be ready to go for Spring Training, but it is unclear. Coming from Boston, Toboni should be very aware of what Winckowski’s timeline looks like.
As a pitcher, Winckowski is a versatile arm who relies on getting ground balls. He has posted ground ball rates over 50% every year of his career. In Boston, he has mostly been used as a long reliever. However, he has the ability to start games as well.
He throws a 4-seamer and a sinker, both of which sit at around 95 MPH. Winckowski’s secondary offerings are a cutter, a slider and a changeup. The cutter is probably his best secondary pitch, but all of them are decent.
If Winckowski is healthy, I like him as an option. He can perform in a number of roles, is young and has proven MLB success. You can argue that he is a bit redundant with guys like Brad Lord, but you can never have enough pitching. At just 27, Winckowski is a very intriguing option.
The next arm we will discuss played for the Red Sox arch rival, the New York Yankees. Ian Hamilton has been a solid reliever in the Bronx for the last three seasons, but has never been the star of the show. His best season came in 2023, when he posted a 2.64 ERA in 58 innings.
The last couple seasons have been so-so and injury plagued. However, Hamilton’s ERA marks of 3.82 and 4.28 would be helpful for the Nats bullpen. There is also a chance he can recapture his 2023 form at just 30 years old. His 2-seam fastball is nasty and is a thing of beauty at its best.
While the 2-seamer is his most visually appealing pitch, Hamilton’s slider is his out pitch. He got hitters to whiff at his slider 50% of the time last season. Each of the last three years, he has generated whiff rates over 40% on the pitch.
Hamilton does have control issues, with walk rates over 10% in two of the last three seasons. However, he has struck out at least 25% of hitters in the last three seasons as well. Hamilton would be a clear upgrade for a Nats bullpen that needs help.
The last arm I want to talk about is Dauri Moreta. After a strong 2023 season, Moreta missed all of 2024 recovering from Tommy John Surgery. He came back in the second half of last season and showed he was still the same guy. Moreta posted a 3.24 ERA in 18 outings last year.
Moreta’s signature pitch is his slider which has unusual movement. Instead of moving away from right handed hitters, it has almost a screwball type of action. This throws hitters off and gets a lot of swings and misses.
Despite throwing the slider well over half of the time, he generates whiffs at around a 40% clip on the pitch. While the slider is his primary pitch, he is not totally a one trick pony. At 95 MPH, Moreta has enough heat on his fastball to keep hitters honest.
He is entering his age 30 season, so Moreta should have plenty of solid years ahead of him. It was a surprise that the Pirates DFA’d him given the fact he looked strong in his return. This should be an opportunity that Paul Toboni explores.
While these are not the biggest names and probably won’t close games for you, all five of these guys are solid options. They will all come quite cheap as well given their flaws or lack of experience. However, all five of these names have a good chance of being upgrades in the Nats bullpen.
If Paul Toboni and his player development team can make some tweaks to these players, they could reach new heights as well. The big name relievers may be off the market, but there are still quality options that will be affordable as well.
