Jennings wants to pitch every day; Fedde's key role still undecided

With Anthony Rendon moving to the injured list, the Nationals purchased the contract of veteran southpaw reliever Dan Jennings from Double-A Harrisburg. Jennings had a 4-5 record with a 3.22 ERA in 72 appearances last season with Milwaukee.

The Senators were in Reading, Pa., when Jennings was told he had to get to D.C.

"After the game they told me, then it became a scramble to get here," Jennings said. "I took an Uber here from Reading. I think the guy was a little surprised when he picked me up, but he was good."

General manager Mike Rizzo said they have had their eyes on Jennings since spring training began.

"We had looked at him for a long time," Rizzo said. "We couldn't get it done at the beginning of spring training, but we our scouting department kept after him, we kept watching him, and we had an opportunity to sign him to a minor league deal and we did."

Rizzo said Jennings was an enticing signing because of his ability to pitch every day if need be.

"He's got a good track record," Rizzo said. "He's a solid left-handed reliever. He's played on good teams in the past. He's a guy that can take the ball all the time. He's a work horse. I think he pitched in 70 or so games last year. He's a sub 3.00 ERA for his career and can give you innings in all sorts of different roles in the bullpen."

A left-hander who can eat up innings and pitch almost every day? That seems like the elixir Nats skipper Davey Martinez has been searching for since the bullpen struggled to begin the season.

"He's a veteran guy that led baseball in (appearances)," Martinez said. "He's gonna pitch. He's really good at getting left-handed batters out. He's going to have an opportunity to come in and pitch clean innings, in high-leverage situations."

Jennings said he prides himself on being that guy who can pitch every day out of the bullpen and was actually disappointed he didn't start the season with a team, because he valued being in the Top-12 in National League appearances.

"I pitch every day. I think the most upsetting thing about being late to the season - I think I led the majors in appearances the last two years," Jennings said. "That's something I took pride in. I'm always ready every day. Managers that had me in the past knew they never had to ask because I wasn't going to shy away from taking the ball, and they basically have to rip it out of my hand once I am out there. I love to pitch ... I can't even fathom a quote unquote day off."

The left-hander said he liked D.C. because they are a team built to go for a title every season.

"I think it's pretty clear in the big leagues teams that need opportunities, want opportunities to win are the teams that are looking to sign guys," Jennings said. "Obviously, Washington is a place like that. When you are looking to sign somewhere, you got to look at where the opportunity is and where a team is looking to win. We are fortunate here that that is the situation. It's a team that is looking to win."

* The Nationals have not decided if Erick Fedde will start or be a reliever in his next appearance. His next turn is Friday with Double-A Harrisburg. Fedde was very good in his first appearance this season, basically saving the Nats in the final game of their series against the Padres and giving them a chance to come back and win the game. He tossed four shutout innings, allowing only two hits, with one walk and three strikeouts. The Nats were down 6-0 and came back and won the game 7-6 in 11 innings. Fedde threw 49 pitches, 34 for strikes.

"We're not sure which way we are going to go with it," said general manager Mike Rizzo. "It's easier to make a starter a reliever than make a reliever a starter. That's kind of always our mindset. It's hard to expand a guy and stretch him out. But he's fully stretched out, he's thrown 100 pitches in games before. We liked what we saw here as a multi-inning, multi-out reliever if need be, but whatever his role is we feel that he is going to be a huge asset to this organization for us."

Rizzo said Fedde is a good example of an important mantra in the Nats organization: Build depth in starting pitching, first and foremost. Then you can use those pitchers as the need arises, either as starters or relievers.

"We have several guys that we feel can give us depth, Fedde being one of them, but we're going to go with our best 25," Rizzo said. "I've said it from day one. We've never been afraid to move guys to the big leagues in different roles and different positions and different times, no matter what their chronological age shows, we're going to put our best club on the field. And if Fedde is one of our best 12 or 13 pitchers, that is going to help us win a championship, then we are going to consider it.

"But we always consider him as a front-line starting pitching prospect and a guy that we're going to count on in the long time in the future to be a starter, and you can say the same thing with (Austin) Voth and (Joe) Ross and (Wil) Crowe and with a lot of other guys up and down the minor league system."

And Rizzo is not afraid to use Fedde as a spot starter or a reliever, even though he has been groomed a starter from his draft-day arrival.

"We like to develop starters. We feel starters are more difficult to develop than relievers," Rizzo said. "Relievers, for the most part, are failed starters in the minor leagues and put into the bullpen. So we certainly covet prospects as starters, but we also realize that if the situation calls for us to put one in the bullpen and their stuff ticks up as a shorter-stint type of guy, then we may have to go that route."