The Nationals are likely to have an inexperienced bullpen. Here are a few pitchers who could emerge from the pack
Entering 2026, the Washington Nationals bullpen is loaded with uncertainty. The unit had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball last year, with a 5.59 mark. Rather than adding to the unit, Paul Toboni has made the group even worse on paper so far this offseason by trading presumptive closer Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners.
There is likely to be at least one free agent addition to the bullpen this offseason. However, most of the best free agent relievers are off the market. Toboni’s lack of urgency in attacking the free agent relief market tells me that he has some trust in the internal options at his disposal.
With that in mind, I am going to look at five pitchers who Toboni is likely to be intrigued by. Most of these guys did not put up great numbers last year, but have some intriguing traits. They all have good stuff but need to make some command improvements or adjust their pitch mixes.
The first pitcher I want to discuss is a guy who most fans probably do not have much hope for at this point. That would be Jackson Rutledge. The 2019 first rounder finally spent a full season in the MLB, but the results were not pretty. He posted an ugly 5.77 ERA in 63 appearances. The underlying numbers were not much better either.
However, Rutledge has some pitch usage tweaks he could make that could really help him. Last season, he was not throwing his best pitches enough. The results and the stuff models agree that Rutledge’s two best pitches are his slider and splitter. He only threw the slider 25.8% of the time and he threw the splitter just 9.4% of the time.
Honestly, the slider should be the pitch Rutledge throws the most as a reliever. Batters hit just .194 against the pitch with a 39.7% whiff rate. The home run prone Rutledge also did not allow a single long ball on the slider. It should be his primary pitch against righties and an offering he throws more than 11% of the time against lefties.
Last season, Rutledge was solid against righties thanks to the slider, but lefties hit .363 against him. Upping his splitter usage would be one way to help solve his lefty problems. He threw the splitter 20% of the time against lefties with solid results. Meanwhile, he threw a cutter to lefties that got absolutely lit up 18% of the time. He may never be a star, but these usage tweaks could help Rutledge be a solid piece in the bullpen.
Another Nats reliever who should use a slider as their primary pitch is Clayton Beeter. He actually showed a lot for the Nats down the stretch. After being traded from the Yankees, he posted a 2.49 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Right now, he is the favorite to be the Nats closer.
He already throws his slider a lot, using it 46% of the time. However, I think he could use it even more. Beeter is a two pitch guy, using the slider 46% of the time and a fastball 54% of the time. I think he should flip those two numbers and use the slider as his primary pitch.
It got great results, with a .098 batting average against and a 49.1% whiff rate despite the heavy usage. The pitch also pops on stuff models with a 126 stuff+ rating. Beeter’s lack of strike-throwing could make this strategy harder to pull off. Pitchers tend to throw more fastballs when they are behind in the count.
However, Beeter’s slider command might actually be better than his fastball command. Trusting the pitch in any count could be the next step in his development. Beeter is not as much of a breakout candidate because he has sort of broken out already. I do think there are some more steps he could take to show that production was for real.
The next breakout candidate is a guy who I thought would establish himself in 2025, but did not do so. I had high hopes for Orlando Ribalta entering 2025, but he was awful, posting a 7.03 ERA in 22 outings. An injury cost him a few months, but even when he was on the field, the results were not there.
I was not the only Ribalta believer entering 2025, and the stuff is still impressive. Maybe 2026 is the year where we see the best out of the 6’7 reliever. He has a few really impressive pitches and looks the part.
Ribalta throws a 4-seamer, a sinker, a slider and a changeup. All four pitches have promise, but the results are inconsistent. The 4-seam fastball averages 96.4 MPH and has very good carry. It was his best pitch in 2025, with batters hitting .192 against it.
His slider grades out well on models, but got lit up in 2025. Hitters had an insane .806 slugging percentage against the pitch. I think Ribalta’s best secondary pitch is his bugs bunny changeup. He generated whiffs more than 40% of the time with the changeup. Ribalta is also comfortable throwing it to righties and lefties.
He finishes off the arsenal with a sinker that generates a ton of weak contact. Ribalta had massive problems with walks and home runs, but the tools are there. Hopefully Toboni and the development team can help Ribalta solve some of these problems.
The one reliever the Nats have added to the fold is Griff McGarry, who they selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Phillies. McGarry was a starter last year and posted a 3.44 ERA with a ton of strikeouts in 83.1 minor league innings.
However, a lack of command will push McGarry into a bullpen role. The Nats will be incentivized to keep McGarry on the roster because they would have to return him to the Phillies if they demote him. He has the stuff to thrive in the MLB, but the command is a question.
The raw stuff is world class. His 121 stuff+ rating was one of the best numbers in the minor leagues. At his best, his fastball/slider combination is electric. His arm slot is tough to pick up and he is a whiff machine.
Toboni has a simple task with McGarry. Find a way to get him in the zone enough. Walks will always be a part of his game, but he has to keep them under control. It is similar to the Beeter situation. Even if he walks 12% of hitters, which is bad for most guys, he will be fine because of his stuff.
This is a fun Rule 5 bet to make. There is a chance he gets returned to the Phillies very quickly. However, there is also a chance that he becomes a key piece to the bullpen due to his swing and miss stuff.
The last guy I want to talk about is Cole Henry. After an injury riddled road, he was finally healthy in 2025 and established himself as a solid reliever. He faded a bit down the stretch and ended the season with an ERA over 4, but he showed plenty of flashes.
Henry has a low slot and big extension which helps deceive hitters. His fastball has a ton of life and is by far his best pitch. Batters hit .191 against the pitch and whiffed nearly 30% of the time against his heater. That whiff number is insane for a fastball, especially one that is 94.4 MPH.
For Henry, the next step in his development will be improving his command and secondary pitches. His curveball is decent, but I think Toboni may help him find another breaking ball shape. A sweeper would make a lot of sense given his slot. Henry’s curve has sweeper-like movement anyway. Stuff models also like the curve.
There is a chance that Henry is the closer next season. He still has health questions, but the stuff is there. Henry also seems like a fun template for smart pitching minds to work with. He has a lot of unique characteristics, which is always a positive.
This bullpen is very short on proven commodities, but there are some interesting names to develop. None of these guys are sure things, but I expect a couple of them to take big steps in 2026. Paul Toboni is sure betting on that because on paper, he has made the worst bullpen in baseball even worse on paper. However, I think these guys could make the bullpen much better next season.
Category: General Sports
