Nationals Need to Trade for Bullpen Arms, These Are Two Who They Should Pursue

This is who the Washington Nationals should go after.

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Washington Nationals players have 16 days to convince the front office to add players ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline instead of becoming sellers.

While president of baseball operations Paul Toboni might opt to trade away some pieces regardless of the playoff position his team is in before that crucial date, the scale of which he would ship out players could be reduced if the Nationals are still in the mix for a wild card spot compared to if they are fully out of it.

If Washington does choose to bring in some upgrades, they will almost assuredly come in the bullpen, as this was one of the worst relief staffs in baseball during the first half of the season. Their struggles are a major reason why the Nationals are on the outside looking in when it comes to a spot in the playoffs, which is why some new pieces are needed.

Knowing that, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden listed six relievers who Washington could target ahead of the trade deadline, and I've decided to compare some key statistics for how this group performed during the first half of the season.

	Antonio Senzatela	Seth Halvorsen	Matt Gage	Keaton Winn	Chase Silseth	Sam Bachman
ERA	3.31	4.74	5.60	3.09	3.03	4.14
xERA	3.50	7.02	5.31	3.43	3.74	3.43
IP	49	19	27.1	32	35.2	41.1
K	42	17	22	26	45	42
BB	16	15	17	10	20	20
K Rate	20.8%	17.7%	17.5%	20.8%	28.8%	24.0%
BB Rate	7.9%	15.6%	13.5%	8.0%	12.8%	11.4%
Stuff+	102	105	94	100	95	103
Age	31	26	33	28	26	26
Free Agent	2026	2031	2032	2031	2031	2031

As can be seen, the majority of these options would be long-term additions for the Nationals, which is something that should be appealing for the front office. Only Antonio Senzatela, who has a club option for 2027, can hit the open market at this season. That might make Washington more comfortable when it comes to giving up assets to land one of these half a dozen arms, as it won't be cheap or easy to acquire them.

That's why the Nationals have to make the right decision when it comes to who they are going to target. And if they were to ask my recommendation, I think they should pursue Colorado Rockies right-hander Seth Halvorsen and Los Angeles Angels right-hander Sam Bachman.

Seth Halvorsen, Sam Bachman Should Be Targets of Nationals

Colorado Rockies relief pitcher Seth Halvorsen | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Starting with Halvorsen, the fact he's 26 years old is a major positive for me. Add in the fact that he isn't scheduled to become a free agent until 2031, and that means Washington should be getting his five best seasons now that he's gotten some crucial major league experience.

While Halvorsen has struggled a bit this season -- including his current stint on the 15-day injured list due to right shoulder inflammation -- he has big-time stuff and would bring an element to the Nationals' bullpen that they are lacking. The front office might be a bit weary about adding another player with some command issues, but the payoff for Halvorsen if the coaching staff can fix that problem is massive.

As for Bachman, his past pedigree of being the No. 9 overall pick in the 2021 draft is tantalizing. And after he was moved into the bullpen following some serious injury issues, he's been able to perform at a high level this season and actually has the best expected ERA out of the six mentioned as possible targets for Washington. Add in his Stuff+ number being above the league average mark, and Bachman could become a key contributor in this bullpen for the rest of the year and beyond based on the fact that he won't hit free agency until 2031.

It's not clear if the Nationals are even targeting this group of six relievers. But if they are, then Halvorsen and Bachman should be their priorities.