Was Lopez only first of several bullpen additions to come?

Though the approach has been somewhat methodical, the Nationals have addressed their most obvious needs so far this winter. They acquired a first baseman and a designated hitter, hopefully adding more power to a lineup that sorely needs it. They acquired one experienced starting pitcher and re-acquired another, giving them rotation depth with at least six (maybe seven) candidates for Opening Day jobs.

And then finally over the weekend they made the first move to address the last remaining obvious hole: the bullpen. In signing right-hander Jorge López for $3 million, they added an experienced late-inning arm to a relief corps woefully short on such things.

That shouldn’t be the end of Mike Rizzo’s to-do list, though. There should be more bullpen moves to come before pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in a mere four weeks.

López is a solid addition, a soon-to-be 32-year-old with 31 career saves, an All-Star selection as recently as 2022 and a 2.89 ERA in 52 games last season with the Mets and Cubs. He fits right into the same mold as Derek Law and Dylan Floro, two experienced right-handers who signed similar deals last winter. (Law’s was officially a minor league contract, but he was a lock to make the club as long as he was healthy.)

Law, of course, returns, having just agreed to a $2.75 million salary to avoid arbitration. Floro is long gone, having been traded to the Diamondbacks in July for Andres Chaparro. In a perfect world, López would take over that role, which would carry some extra irony considering the Twins traded him to the Marlins for Floro less than two years ago.

The Nationals, though, still need a replacement for Kyle Finnegan, and that’s the biggest potential move still to come.

Yes, López has closed before. And if necessary, he could fill that role here in D.C. But if that’s the role the Nats envision for him right now, they are taking an awfully big risk.

In deciding not to tender a contract to Finnegan after an All-Star season that including 38 saves but a 3.68 ERA due to some second-half struggles, the Nationals suggested they felt they could do better in the ninth inning. At least in terms of bang for their buck.

They weren’t willing to pay a projected $8 million to $9 million to retain Finnegan. Are they willing to pay that much (or even more) for another closer they feel is worth that salary?

There’s no shortage of accomplished late-inning relievers still available on the free agent market. The list includes Tanner Scott, David Robertson, Kirby Yates, Kenley Jansen, Craig Kimbrel, Carlos Estevez, Joe Kelly, A.J. Minter, Jose LeClerc, Adam Ottavino and, yes, Finnegan. And that’s not a complete list. There are more than six dozen relievers of various abilities and track records still looking for jobs.

It remains to be seen how much the Nats are willing to pay for a closer, but it’s hard to imagine Rizzo would address his other roster holes in the manner he did without spending at least a comparable amount on a ninth-inning reliever as he did last year – Finnegan made $5.1 million – if not more than that.

When the Nationals were most competitive last season (April-June), they did so thanks in large part to a consistently effective and deep bullpen that mostly won the late innings over opponents. That group was led by Finnegan, with Law, Floro and Hunter Harvey setting him up.

It’s not easy to build a good bullpen, but it also doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. The Nats built that bullpen with some savvy signings and waiver claims. They also made sure to bring a bunch of other potential candidates to spring training, recognizing not everyone was going to pan out and they could find quality out of quantity.

The Nationals bullpen is lacking in quantity at the moment. Law and López are the only experienced arms in the mix, followed by some promising (but very raw) young guys in Jose A. Ferrer, Eduardo Salazar, Zach Brzykcy and Orlando Ribalta. Mason Thompson could make it back from his second Tommy John surgery, but is far from a sure thing. Evan Reifert will hope to contribute as a Rule 5 draftee, but we know how realistic those odds are.

The weekend signing of López was a good first step. If it was indeed the first of several steps still to come by Rizzo, there’s hope yet for the Nats to assemble a quality bullpen this season.