What are Nats' viable options to address struggling bullpen?

PITTSBURGH – There have been times in club history when the Nationals bullpen garnered too much attention for the wrong reasons.

Think of the first half of the 2017 season, when Dusty Baker went through three different closers before Mike Rizzo finally acquired Sean Doolittle at the trade deadline.

Think of the first half of the 2019 season, when Davey Martinez had no choice but to overwork Doolittle because there were no other reliable arms in the pen, at least until Rizzo acquired Daniel Hudson at the trade deadline.

And think of the disastrous 2021 season, in which a veteran-laden roster still believing it could contend was done in by a variety of calamities, including some July meltdowns by a bullpen anchored by the highly combustible Brad Hand.

It’s easy to look at the current team’s bullpen dilemma and compare it to those previous scenarios. But there’s a distinct difference this time around: The problem isn’t the closer, it’s all the guys pitching in front of him.

“Right now, there’s two guys back there, we can’t even get to them: Ferrer and Finnegan,” Martinez lamented after Monday night’s 10-3 loss to the Pirates, one that saw three relievers officially charged with six runs allowed in only 3 2/3 innings.

The Nationals all along have liked their chances for success when they can hand a lead to left-handed setup man Jose A. Ferrer and closer Kyle Finnegan. And when that situation has presented itself, the results have been good: Finnegan is 5-for-5 in save opportunities with a 1.35 ERA, and in four of those games Ferrer has pitched at some point in front of Finnegan and posted a zero.

This hasn’t been a case of Nats relievers blowing late leads. It’s really been a case of Nats relievers turning close games into lopsided games, as was the case Monday night.

Sure, the Nationals faced a daunting task from the outset in Paul Skenes. But they were still very much in the game for most of the night. They trailed 2-0 in the fifth when starter Brad Lord was pulled in favor of Colin Poche, who quickly turned that 2-0 deficit into a 5-0 deficit.

Even so, they got back into it with two runs off Skenes in the sixth, making it 5-2. All they needed to do was keep it close and give their lineup a chance against a Pirates bullpen that has late-inning issues of its own. But then Jackson Rutledge and Eduardo Salazar combined to give up five runs in the bottom of the eighth – all five scored while Salazar was on the mound – and suddenly the game was no longer within reach.

Martinez lamented the lack of “intensity” from his relievers, perhaps speaking specifically about Salazar, who retired only one of six batters faced in what turned out to be mop-up duty. He also lamented the hefty walk totals of some of his relievers, surely referencing the insanely high walk rates produced by the likes of Poche (18.69 per nine innings) and Lucas Sims (11.37 per nine innings).

What do the Nationals do about it? Rizzo has shown before he’s willing to cut ties with relievers who have terrible Aprils. But in this case, is he willing to ear Sims’ $3 million salary or Poche’s $1.4 million salary?

Besides, there aren’t exactly a bunch of viable alternatives banging on the door in the minors right now. The only two pitchers on the 40-man roster who aren’t in the big leagues are Andry Lara and Shinnosuke Ogasawara, both starters. Off the 40-man roster are the likes of Triple-A Rochester’s Daison Acosta (8.44 ERA), Joan Adon (4.05), Clay Helvey (9.00), Konnor Pilkington (6.00) and Jack Sinclair (4.76).

There are three relievers on the 15-day injured list: Derek Law (right forearm inflammation), Orlando Ribalta (right biceps strain) and Zach Brzykcy (right quad strain). Of the three, only Brzykcy appears close to returning.

Which leaves a handful of less-experienced bullpen arms already in the majors potentially being asked to take on more prominent roles. Is Martinez prepared to do that with Salazar, Rutledge and/or Cole Henry?

At some point, Martinez may just have to try. He can keep trotting Sims and Poche out there in the sixth or seventh inning, hoping for better results. But until either or both finally do provide better results, Martinez has no choice but to consider whatever alternatives he still has available to him.