With relief market active, Nats fielding inquiries on bullpen arms

SAN DIEGO - The relief dominoes are falling, and that makes it more possible that the Nationals will make a deal involving one of their bullpen arms. Overnight, the Astros agreed to terms with a pair of free agent right-handers, Pat Neshek and Luke Gregerson. Neshek, the low sidearmer who pitched last season for the Cardinals, gets a two-year, $12.5 million deal with an option for a third. Gregerson netted $18.5 million for three years. Both will help to fill voids at the back end of the Astros 'pen, which Houston established as a goal at the Winter Meetings. It was clear the Astros weren't willing to pay the price the Nationals wanted for Tyler Clippard. But with two free agent arms off the board, and Nats general manager Mike Rizzo saying yesterday that there's been significant interest in his team's relief options, maybe today brings something more than rumor and discussion. Clippard, who will earn upwards of $9 million in his final year of arbitration before free agency after the 2015 season, is the guy the Nationals would like to move. They sense his value is high because he's flourished as a setup man and shown he can close out games. And with the organization thinking that Blake Treinen could profile as an eventual closer, he could inherit some of Clippard's old duties in the seventh and/or eighth inning. The Nats also think up-and-coming righty A.J. Cole may be better suited as a power arm in the late innings. The only issue seems to be making room for him. A deal accomplishes that - or at least sets the stage for Cole's arrival later this summer. Think of him as this year's Aaron Barrett, a guy who could be given the opportunity to pitch meaningful innings and impress in camp, then ride a shuttle between the nation's capital and Triple-A Syracuse as need dictates. Treinen is drawing interest, but the Nationals don't really want to move him. So is Drew Storen, the presumed closer. But if the Nats give up both Storen and Clippard, they have no one to close games. And both Rizzo and manager Matt Williams are sure they'll get the Storen who dominated after taking over ninth-inning duties from the departed Rafael Soriano late in the season (as opposed to the guy who has struggled to a career 8.44 ERA with no saves in the postseason). "Nobody's ever going to be perfect," Williams said. "And nobody's ever going to get everybody out or get a hit every time up. So I don't look at it that way, I can't break those up. I look at the man and I look at the ability to get the people out and his track record going in. He stepped in in the middle of the season and went from a seventh inning guy to a ninth inning guy and was phenomenal. That's what I look at. Every time we asked him to go out there and close a game, he was perfect. He did it. And that's all I can evaluate. Am I confident in handing him the ball in the ninth? Yeah, sure. Because he's really good at it." Teams have talked to Rizzo about Barrett, but the Nationals may need him to fill in if they move Clippard. The Nationals tendered a contract offer to left-hander Ross Detwiler, who could have some value to a team seeking a southpaw starter/long man. The Nats already have two lefty relievers - Jerry Blevins and Matt Thornton - with Xavier Cedeno in the wings. Righty Craig Stammen is another interesting player. He has flourished as a long man, providing length out of the 'pen and vulturing wins. He made $1.35 million last year and is due a bump in arbitration, perhaps a little north of $2 million. The Nats value his versatility, but he could be moved in the right deal.