Who's left in the Nationals bullpen?

VIERA, Fla. - The Nationals lost a valuable member of their bullpen yesterday when left-hander Jerry Blevins was traded to the Mets for outfield Matt den Dekker.

Blevins was shaky for most of last season, as well as this spring, but nobody can argue what he provided for the Nats down the stretch a year ago - and especially in the National League Division Series. Blevins inherited runners all over the bases and was unhittable, pitching 3 1/3 scoreless innings in critical situations during the NLDS.

After the trade, Williams identified five lefties that are capable of contributing out of the Nats bullpen during the regular season: Matt Thornton, Xavier Cedeno, Rich Hill, Matt Grace and Felipe Rivero. But Williams only plans to carry two southpaw relievrs when opening day comes around in six days.

"We always look at two," said Williams. "Given where we're at on any given time, there's been bullpens in the past that have had one. There's been bullpens in the past that have none. There's also been three left-handed guys in the bullpens. So it depends on where we're at with health, but as we make decisions going into opening day, we look to two lefties. That's what we look at and when we make those final determination whether we'll go that way or not."

Thornton is guaranteed to be one of them. The 38-year-old was acquired last August off waivers from the Yankees and responded with 11 1/3 scoreless innings while stranding 100 percent of inherited baserunners. He's allowed one run on six hits in six appearances this spring.

Cedeno, 28, has bounced back and forth between Triple-A Syracuse and the Nationals over the past two seasons. He owns a 2.77 ERA in 20 games in the majors in that timeframe. During exhibition season, Cedeno has allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in eight innings. Two of the five hits Cedeno has given up have been home runs.

Grace has been stellar this spring, not surrendering a run with four strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. The 26-year-old was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse on Mar. 19.

"He's got a good sinker, good changeup and working on a slider, but the ball moves a lot so for a left-handed pitcher - that's key," said Williams. "And he throws it to both sides of the plate. I was impressed."

The Angels released Hill last summer after he failed to get an out in two relief appearances. The Yankees signed him to a minor league deal in July. He bounced back and forth between Triple-A to the majors, posting a 1.69 ERA over 14 appearances with New York.

The 34-year-old Hill spent the early part of his career as a starter with the Cubs and Orioles before transitioning to the bullpen. Hill has a 24-22 career record with a 4.72 ERA.

Hill was considered a long shot to find a spot in the bullpen after signing a minor league contract with an invite to spring training late last month. Now Hill finds himself in the thick of a competition for a role as a situational left-hander.

He has allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings during Grapefruit League play.

Rivero, 23, pitched four scoreless innings and struck out four batters in the exhibition season. He's considered one of the best young pitchers in the organization. He was optioned to Double-A Harrisburg on March, 16 but not before leaving a strong impression.

"He really opened some eyes this spring. He threw the ball great," Williams said. "Fastball was in the mid-90s, he has a breaking ball to go along with it. Composed. He really took to heart what (he and pitching coach Steve McCatty) talked about regarding his preparation and the possibility to come in as a reliever during the spring."