Intriguing Washington Nationals Reliever Shows Promise in Spring Appearance

The Washington Nationals' bullpen is projected to struggle this season, but one of its members showed his potential with an impressive performance in Tuesday's spring training contest.

Feb 22, 2025; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Evan Reifert (68) throws a pitch in the third inning against the Houston Astros at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have an impressive core of young hitters, but the team is expected to be held back by the quality of its pitching staff in 2025.

Only one member of the starting rotation is projected to finish the season with an ERA better than 4.29, and the best estimated ERA among its projected stable of relievers is 3.87, according to Fangraphs data.

To avoid the same fate of missing the postseason that the organization has met every season since winning the World Series in 2019, a lot of Washington's arms are going to have to drastically outperform their expectations.

One member of the Nationals' likely bullpen showcased the potential he has to do just that in his appearance in Tuesday's hectic 14-7 win over the Miami Marlins, and that was right-hander Evan Reifert.

Reifert was the first reliever out of the bullpen after veteran starter Trevor Williams allowed two earned runs in two innings, and the 25-year-old delivered a clean, one-two-three inning in which he struck out the side.

The first batter he faced was Heriberto Hernandez, who worked a full count before swinging and missing at a 3-2 slider. Xavier Edwards and Otto Lopez both suffered the same fate, whiffing at Reifert's slider to get sent back to the dugout.

The slider was working brilliantly on Tuesday, as Reifert threw it 12 times and generated six swings— all of which missed. No pitcher that appeared in the contest generated more whiffs than Reifert's seven.

Reifert's slider is exactly what makes him a high-upside relief option. On Tuesday, he threw it at an average velocity of 84 miles per hour and spun it at an average rate of 2,523 rpm.

According to MLB.com's scouting report on him, the pitch grades out as a 70, an absurdly good offering especially when combined with a plus four-seam fastball, which the outlet rates as a 55.

The other interesting wrinkle is what Reifert's past organizations tell us about him. He went undrafted in 2020 before the Milwaukee Brewers signed him, and he was later acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for Mike Brosseau.

The Brewers and Rays are the class of MLB when it comes to identifying pitching talent, and the Nationals were able to grab him from Tampa Bay in the Rule 5 draft. Adding relievers that the Rays don't have the space to keep is a proven solid strategy for filling out a bullpen, and it looks like Washington may have found a gem for their needy group in Reifert.