Sammy Solis flashed in rookie season and finished strong

Beyond the enormous task of hiring the team's next manager, there are a number of personnel decisions Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo faces as the winter coats come out early in the nation's capital. Chief among the problems that helped the Nationals self-destruct in August and September is the bullpen.

After trading away Tyler Clippard - who pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the Mets in their 4-1 National League Championship Series win last night - the Nats lost late-inning consistency and stability. They were forced to try several different combinations, including using six rookies.

Left-hander Sammy Solis was one of five Nationals pitchers to make their major league debuts in the first month of the season alone. Reflecting on his first season in the big leagues, Solis called his first appearance on April 30 at Citi Field the highlight.

"Debuting in New York City was, by far," Solis said. "It took the cake."

Solis tossed two scoreless innings in the Nats' 8-2 win over the Mets that night. In fact, he didn't surrender a run over six innings in his initial three outings. But a rough two innings in front of a hometown crowd in Arizona, followed by another tough frame in San Diego, landed Solis back at Double-A Harrisburg in late May.

Solis returned to the Nationals in July and then finished the season in Washington when rosters expanded in September. The 27-year-old southpaw impressed down the stretch, not yielding an earned run in his final eight appearances while fanning eight. Solis finished 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 17 strikeouts over 21 1/3 innings in 18 outings this year.

"I think I competed," Solis said. "That was the biggest thing. Coming up as a rookie and proving to yourself that you can pitch at this level. I definitely had a few rough patches here, a couple bad outings, but so far, so good this past call-up and past month."

When we spoke on the last day of the season at Citi Field, Solis remarked that it was October and he was still pitching.

"That hasn't happened too much in my career," Solis said. "Being healthy is the biggest thing for me."

Solis, who pitched exclusively as a starter before this year, only took the mound five times in 2014 due to elbow issues. He was limited to just 13 starts in 2013 after coming off Tommy John surgery the year before. Entering this season, Solis was still the highest-ranked left-hander in the farm system after the Nationals selected him in the second round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft.

Solis discussed some of the challenges he faced in his first season in the majors.

"Just adjusting to the big league life," he said. "The travel, obviously, is a lot different. Being in the bullpen as opposed to starting is a lot different. Just being around veteran guys is pretty cool. If you're here in the minor leagues at 27, you're a veteran guy and then you get up here and now I'm a young pup again. It's just different. But it's been a wonderful experience."

Not many rookies have the opportunity to step into a clubhouse and lean on veterans like right-handers Max Scherzer, Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister or lefty reliever Matt Thornton.

"Just having veteran guys like Thorny here because I'm now a left-handed reliever and never done that in my life, but he's been doing it for 10 years," Solis said. "So just kind of picking their brains on how to get ready, how get loose, how to stay loose. Going into the game, how many pitches do you think I should throw beforehand? So I think just picking their brains has been the biggest plus. Just having veteran guys like Thorny and Doug, who was a starter now reliever. It's just nice to have them out there."

The 39-year-old Thornton is free agent and certainly a question mark for Rizzo. Another rookie left-hander, Felipe Rivero, was impressive, with his fastball touching 100 mph late in the season. The 24-year-old figures to be a late-inning factor for the Nationals next year. And the Nationals also have 26-year-old left-hander Matt Grace, who delivered a 4.24 ERA in 26 appearances in his 2015 rookie season.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-5 Solis says focusing on developing his off-speed pitches is primary during his work this winter at home in Arizona.

"Finding a breaking ball I can throw consistently for strikes is gonna be my offseason plan and we'll see if I can bring it into camp," Solis said.