Longtime Veteran Reliever Listed as Someone Nationals Should Sign This Winter

The Washington Nationals need another bullpen arm or two, and this veteran could be that for them.

Brad Mills-Imagn Images

The relief market is starting to dwindle, and that puts the Washington Nationals in a tough spot.

While they were never going to add top-of-the-line bullpen arms this winter based on where they are sitting in their current rebuilding process, the fact their unit was the worst in baseball this past season with a 5.59 ERA and they shipped out projected closer Jose A. Ferrer in a trade makes that group thin on paper heading into the 2026 campaign.

The Nationals will look to some internal options to get a better sense of who could potentially fit into their future plans. But it would also be wise for them to add some established relievers before spring training to fortify this staff.

That's why Eric Treuden of Just Baseball believes Washington should sign veteran arm Kirby Yates this winter. In his "Playing GM" series, he laid out the reasoning for why the 38-year-old should be a target.

Kirby Yates Would Give Nationals Another Closer Option for Affordable Price

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"He is an 11-year veteran who has 98 career saves and has posted an excellent 2.62 ERA (156 ERA+) dating back to 2018 when he first began to experience sustained success at the game's highest level. ... Adding someone like Yates, who can provide a solid and stable presence at the tail end of it all, would be extremely valuable. Again, we're comfortable acknowledging that he'd earn maybe 20 saves while spending the year as the Nationals' closer, but he'd be a welcomed presence on this team, and he wouldn't break the bank either," Treuden wrote.

Yates would need to have a bounce back for that to happen. He was sensational for the Texas Rangers in 2024 when he posted a 1.17 ERA across 61 outings that earned him an All-Star nod. But following his decision to sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of this past season, he struggled with a 5.23 ERA across 50 appearances that relegated him to mop-up duty.

Kirby Yates, K'ing the Side. 🤢 pic.twitter.com/agnvIrkKEY

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) March 24, 2025

The Nationals would have to hope Yates can turn back the clock. It's tough to rely on someone set to enter their age-39 season for a massive role, which is why they shouldn't go into things expecting the veteran to be their full-time closer if they do sign him.

Instead, someone with major upside like Clayton Beeter should be inserted into that role while Yates is used more in setup spots if he's performing well, which should help Washington win more games compared to what happened in 2025 when they had constant bullpen collapses.

At a projected market value of $1.1 million, per Spotrac, this would not be a heavy investment that would need to be made by the Nationals. So bringing in the established veteran could be worth taking a chance on at this stage of the offseason as the rest of the relief options start to dry up.