Harper makes his pitch for a spot in Nationals bullpen

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - In some ways, Ryne Harper is like the new kid in class. The proverbial new kid doesn't know where the library is, isn't sure who to sit with at lunch and stands alone at the bus stop.

Harper might be new to the Nationals, traded from the Twins on Jan. 29 in exchange for minor league right-hander Hunter McMahon, but the 30-year-old who reached the majors for the first time last season is not new to changing teams.

This is the third time he's done so in his career. Harper, a right-handed reliever, was drafted and developed by the Braves, traded to the Mariners in December 2015, was released and signed with the Twins as a free agent in January 2018.

So what's the trick to fitting in?

"There's no set routine," he said. "I wouldn't say I wing it, either. I just try to keep to myself. I don't want to come on too strong. I like to ease into it. Just get to know people, slowly but surely. It takes a lot of time because there's a lot of guys and staff."

The classic late bloomer, Harper prospered with the Twins in 2019, going 4-2 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.178 WHIP over 61 games and 54 1/3 innings. He averaged 1.7 walks and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

But when the Twins got caught in an offseason roster crunch and needed a 40-man spot for newly signed slugger Josh Donaldson, Harper found himself the odd man out. He was designated for assignment before the Nats worked out a trade for him.

"It makes sense," he said. "I understand it. It's business and that's part of it. But everything happens for a reason and I'm happy to be where I'm at now."

Where he's at now is among a collection of relievers with varying degrees of major league success who are fighting for one or two spots in the Nationals bullpen. All winter long, the club's success resulted in an array of minor league and major league deals handed out to veteran relievers. You've heard the expression about a team never having enough relief pitching? The Nats are the poster children for that mantra.

"Everybody I've seen here is good," said Harper, who has thrown 2 2/3 innings this spring, allowing an unearned run on a walk with two strikeouts. "If they weren't good, they wouldn't be here if they weren't good. We're competing. I'm not going to worry about the numbers. They're going to study it and they're going to do what they think is best. It's not for me to worry about; it's for me to go out and do my best I can do."

Right now, that means differentiating himself from left-handers Fernando Abad and Sam Freeman and right-handers Javy Guerra, Kevin Quackenbush, Aaron Barrett, David Hernandez and Kyle Finnegan.

The back end of the bullpen is pretty much carved in stone, with lefty closer Sean Doolittle being set up by right-handers Will Harris and Daniel Hudson. Lefty Roenis Elías and righties Wander Suero, Hunter Strickland and Tanner Rainey should make the club. One of the trio of right-handers competing for the No. 5 starter's role - Erick Fedde, Austin Voth and Joe Ross - could break camp as a long man.

That leaves a spot or two on the newfangled 26-man roster - and a whole lot of guys with varying degrees of experience hoping to make a case for inclusion.

Manager Davey Martinez knows what he's going to use as a separator.

"For me, it's consistency, you know?" Martinez said. "Like you say, we got a lot of guys here who have done it before. What I like is the depth, and that's always important. You never know. We got a long way to go in the spring and things work themselves out. But they all understand there are one or two jobs open."

One sore shoulder, a tweaked hamstring or a series of ineffective appearances could be enough to eliminate a candidate from contention.

"We definitely believe in throwing strikes here," Martinez said. "One thing we're harping on this year is getting ahead of hitters (and) finishing hitters early. We talked a lot, especially with our starters, how we're impressed by their mindset of getting hitters out (with) four pitches or less. We're trying to do that with our bullpen."

Harper isn't worried about carving out a niche; he's more focused on getting outs whenever his number is called.

Above all, he's trained on what he can do on the mound or in bullpen sessions.

"You can't press. You can't try to do more than you can do," Harper said. "Just be myself. I've been doing this for a while, so I'm not trying to do any more than I know I can. I know myself. Not going to try to do more than I can. Just control the things I can control and hopefully people like what they see."

For years, a belief in himself sustained Harper when he was busing through the minor leagues, trying to gain a foothold on success.

"I know me," he said. "I know what I do, what's going to help me succeed and what I need to focus on. It's great watching those guys who have had so much success in their careers. Just sit back and observe and watch what they do. You learn a lot."