Washington Nationals Sign High-End Veteran Southpaw Reliever to Bolster Bullpen Depth

The Washington Nationals have had a need for bullpen pieces recently, and have decided to fulfill that need by signing a southpaw with 11 years of experience.

Sep 12, 2024; Seattle, Washington, USA; Texas Rangers relief pitcher Andrew Chafin (59) pitches to the Seattle Mariners during the fifth inning at T-Mobile Park. | Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are off to a somewhat disappointing start, with a 13-18 record, landing them in fourth place in the National League East. This is predominantly due to the team having a youth-based core of hitting talent, which will take some time to come along as they continue to develop over time. In addition, the bullpen has been enormously streaky, which results from a few players having performed poorly early on.

In an attempt to repair this issue, the Nationals have decided to sign veteran southpaw reliever Andrew Chafin to a Major League deal, and in a corresponding move, designated Colin Poche for assignment, as was reported by the team account.

Poche was one of the bullpen pieces who was having a difficult time adjusting to his new team, as through his first 13 appearances with the team, he had an 11.42 ERA, 2.538 WHIP, allowing 11 earned runs in 8.2 innings-pitched, and only accruing 10 strikeouts to 12 walks. His performance was likely what forced the team to make a different choice here, and ultimately, they could do a lot worse than Chafin.

He spent the first part of 2025 with the Detroit Tigers in Triple-A Toledo, and in 13 appearances has a 2.13 ERA, 1.263 WHIP, and 17 strikeouts to four walks. In 2024 at the Major League level he was solid, not great but reliable, putting up a 3.51 ERA, 1.473 WHIP, and 70 strikeouts to 31 walks in 62 games between two teams.

Bringing in veterans to solidify the bullpen will certainly help, as they had done throughout the offseason, and continue to do now with this pickup. Chafin should make an immediate impact for the team as he continues to build on an already impressive 11-year career.