This series has exposed the Washington Nationals fatal flaw. They cannot close out games to save their life. Nationals pitchers who come in the game in the 9th inning of a close game feel like fish out of water. The Nationals have already blown 23 saves as a team, while no other team has blown more than 16.
Imagine where the Nationals would be even if they were
tied for the most blown saves. They would be safely in a playoff spot. However, Paul Toboni decided to throw together a bullpen off the scrap heap, and it shows. I do not entirely blame Toboni for building the bullpen this way. This team was not built to win this year, and the offense being this ready for contention was a major surprise.
However, Paul Toboni needs to make a vow to the fanbase that this will never happen again. This has to be the last year of this closer by committee nonsense. Playing the matchups is great in the 6th through 8th inning, but in the 9th you need an alpha dog. The Nationals do not have anything resembling an alpha at the back of the bullpen.
Whether it is at the deadline or in the offseason, Paul Toboni needs to address the closer position in a real way. We have seen that playing the matchups with Orlando Ribalta and Richard Lovelady does not work. Those guys just don’t have the stuff or the minerals for the 9th inning. Lovelady was a cute story, but he had been playing with fire all season, and now it is burning him. Ribalta has nice upside, but he can’t put anyone away to save his life right now.
Just to pour salt on the wound, the Phillies brought out Jhoan Duran in the 9th inning, and he just mowed down the Nats in a dominant 1-2-3 inning. Duran is exactly what the Nats need right now. They need a 100 MPH flamethrower with a badass closer entrance who gives the fans total confidence.
That is nowhere to be found on the Nats roster. They do not even have someone in the Kyle Finnegan or Jose A. Ferrer tier right now. Every time Blake Butera makes a call to the bullpen, he is playing a game of Russian Roulette. Sometimes it works out like with PJ Poulin tonight, but oftentimes, the guy he calls on cannot keep no name players like Derek Hill in the ballpark.
Sure, Butera’s bullpen management has not been perfect. I understand why he took Ribalta out after two very long at bats, but I still think he was a better option than Lovelady. However, for the Nats to win a close game, Butera has to be perfect, and even when he is, they still often blow it.
For the sanity of Nationals fans, this has to be the last year they do this closer by committee thing. Kyle Finnegan was far from perfect, but the Nats would be in a much better spot if they had him.
These Nats relievers just can’t keep the ball in the ballpark. The bullpen has allowed 59 home runs this season, which is 11 more than the next closest team. Walks and home runs are the quickest way to blow games, and those two things seem to be the Nats specialty. This is the first time a team has lost back to back games while having 2 outs, 2 strikes and nobody on base. It is fitting that this team is the one to do it because you really are never out of the woods with this bullpen.
I hate to rant, but it is mindblowing just how bad this is. This unit does absolutely nothing well. As we have documented, they don’t get whiff or have good stuff. In addition to not getting whiffs, they don’t keep the ball in the yard. Just everything you want your bullpen to be good at, this unit is terrible at.
This team really is exceeding expectations, and it has been a fun season. However, it really should be so much more. The offense has been so special this year and is super clutch. Massive moments by Jorbit Vivas and Curtis Mead have absolutely been wasted in the last two nights.
I think the offense will be good again next season, but there is no guarantee that they have the same magic as this season. Progress is not always linear, and it really feels like the Nats have caught lightning in a bottle with the offense this year. James Wood and CJ Abrams (if he is around) will continue being good, but they are also getting career years from the likes of Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr. too.
The starting pitching also has been solid lately. Foster Griffin has been such a great piece for them. The rotation is not great, but it is good enough with this offense. It is the bullpen that is causing the downfall of this team.
They need to find an alpha in the 9th inning, and there are several ways to do that. I think they probably need to look outside the organization. On the free agent side of things, Adrian Morejon, David Bednar and Alex Vesia are the cream of the crop. Morejon would be such a great fit for this team. If Mark Lerner wanted to show any commitment, he would splash the cash for Morejon, who is only 27 right now.
Morejon is not a closer right now, but he most certainly has closer stuff. He averages over 99 MPH on his fastball and has two wipeout secondary pitches. While Morejon’s ERA of 3.51 is good, not great, he has one of the prettiest Baseball Savant pages you will ever see.
He would be the top target this offseason, but at the deadline, I would also like to see Toboni make moves. I made a list of three high velocity arms with control that I would like the Nats to explore. Sam Bachman of the Angels is at the top of that list. He is another guy who throws 100 with a nasty slider. I would dangle Brady House and/or Yohandy Morales for that kind of arm.
Right now, the Nats just lack ballers in the bullpen. They have a bunch of finesse guys who have to walk a tightrope they can’t balance on forever. It has led to disastrous results, and Paul Toboni is getting frustrated. There can never be a bullpen like this again moving forward, and the fix starts with getting a real closer.
