Joe Nathan's new goal: "Give them confidence to give you the ball"

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Baseball's circle of life has brought Joe Nathan - whose 377 career saves are the second-most among active major leaguers - to a curious corner of the Nationals clubhouse at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches. The number on his locker stall nameplate and uniform jersey - 74 - matches the year he was born, and he's grouped with other guys wearing the digits of football offensive linemen who are bold enough to dream of a chance to make a ballclub even though the odds may be stacked squarely against them.

The 42-year-old Nathan is a former elite closer on a club without anyone pegged to pitch the ninth inning. In researching for a SiriusXM morning radio broadcast a few weeks ago, he stumbled upon the Nationals as a team that needed some back-end bullpen help. Suddenly, the post-baseball life that included the beginnings of radio analysis were put on hold and Nathan signed a minor league deal with the Nats, who were willing to take a look-see during camp.

"It's a situation now where you've got to find a club who thinks you might be a good fit for them, but also for me, and you go through what's the best opportunity I might have," Nathan explained. "This place has everything for me - contender, chance to win, some possible openings in the 'pen. Dusty (Baker), who I've had history with and Mike Maddux, who knows me well. It seemed like a no-brainer to me, if the opportunity presented itself."

As recently as 2013, Nathan saved 43 games, posted a 1.39 ERA and made an All-Star team while pitching for the Rangers. The following year, he went to Detroit, where the saves total (39) was strong but the ERA (4.81) wasn't. In the two seasons since, he's undergone a second Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery in April 2015 and been limited to a scant 11 games and 6 1/3 innings since with the Tigers, Cubs and Giants. But the 10 games he tossed last year, allowing no runs on five hits with two walks and nine strikeouts, were enough to keep the competitive juices flowing.

"I think because of last year, that answered a lot of questions, and that's the main reason I wanted to make it back," Nathan explained. "Going into the rehab, the doc was like, "Eighteen months is what you really need,' but 18 months would have put me at about October, so I would have missed the whole season. I told him, "I'm going to respectfully speed this up a little bit,' and I kind of explained the situation. He said you still have to listen to your body, listen to your arm and how things are responding. So it was just being honest, honest with myself and honest with how I'm feeling. Obviously, there's want to get back, but if you're not able, don't push it. Everything responded well last year and to be able to come back and throw 20-something innings in the minors and big leagues combined."

Last year also brought a major change in roles for Nathan, who was used to getting the final three outs of games and high-fiving his catcher, something he'd done regularly since 2004 with the Twins. He learned to pitch when he was called on, how to warm up multiple times and not enter games, get only a batter out because Giants skipper Bruce Bochy had 15 men in the bullpen in the season's final weeks and could play matchups.

Fast-forward to Thursday, when he threw his first bullpen session of the spring, with José Lobaton as his catcher. Nathan started off a little wild, then settled into a rhythm. By the end of his 10-minute effort, he was popping Lobaton's mitt with some serious heat for a guy who will soon receive a plastic AARP card in the mail.

"It was normal," Nathan said. "You always got to remind yourself it's Day One. ... We all do it, I did it my first year in big league camp and I'm still doing it, where you want to go out there and be perfect. But that's not reality all the time. Threw some good ones, threw some not-so-good ones. Kind of an ideal first 'pen. The good thing for me was it felt very strong. Felt live out of my hand, a lot stronger than last year. That's something now for me to work on. How to control and get back to location and command, and that's one of the things that was strong for me last year - why I had some success, even though it was limited. That was because of the command and not so much the velo. Velo was good for me last year, but it's always about command and mixing things up."

In an era where everyone is focused on miles per hour, Nathan has long since stopped worrying about his velocity - especially in spring, when the numbers dipped and always had people asking him if he was all right.

"My velo's never been present in spring, to be honest," he said. "Even when I was a mid to upper-90s guy, even in the spring I was low 90s. It was never there. Everyone was like, 'You feeling OK," and I'm like, 'I'm feeling great.' Then opening day would come around and everything would show up. I think I've gotten a little bit - I don't want to say better - but my velo has been a little bit more present, maybe because they've caught up to each other: my top speed has come down and I've been able to bring it out a little more in spring. Velo, not so much. More feel and command. As get later in spring, it's about beating the guy that's coming to the plate. You dial in to that."

Nathan thinks he has some gas left in the tank and something valuable to offer.

"Hopefully some outs - and to help them win games," he said. "That's the biggest thing for the bullpen guys. Give them confidence to give you the ball and go out there, get outs and be as consistent as you can. Mainly throw strikes when you're coming out of the 'pen. Throw strikes and limit your walks. Make the other team beat you. But first and foremost, give Dusty and Mike an option. The biggest thing is for them to have confidence in me."

Even though the Nationals need a closer, Nathan isn't focused on reclaiming his past glory or his previous role. General manager Mike Rizzo and Baker have made a point of emphasizing the in-house ninth-inning options the Nationals already possess: right-handers Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover, and lefty Sammy Solis. Nathan is content to play the role of an experienced veteran, hoping he can both force his way onto the 25-man roster and perhaps help an inexperienced closer to learn the craft he perfected.

"Obviously, it's a different situation for me, having to come in and make a ballclub as opposed to being on the club already," he said. "Maybe try to dial things up a little bit quicker, kind of show them as much as they need to see. Hopefully, things work out. I did it my first couple of years, so it's not like this is going to be a first for me. This is just the first in a long time."

And if Baker - who was his manager with the Giants when he broke into the bigs in 1999 - asks Nathan to assume the role of mentor, that's fine, too.

Some of the younger relief pitchers have already talked about what a great resource Nathan can be for them. And just like guys like Rob Nen and Tim Worrell did for him as a 24-year-old rookie with the Giants, Nathan doesn't mind paying it forward.

"People have asked me, 'Do you need to be in the ninth inning?' I'm like, 'All I need to be is somewhere.' I want this club to be the best it can be," Nathan said. "I feel like the way this club can be the best it can be is by making guys better around you. ... We're going to have plenty of conversations, especially when we've got ballgames going and we're sitting down in the 'pen with a couple of hours to talk before we go to work. I look forward to those conversations, for sure."