Nationals Already Miss Veteran Reliever After Trading Him To Royals
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How the Washington Nationals addressed their bullpen this offseason left a lot to be desired.
Retaining closer Kyle Finnegan after non-tendering him earlier in the winter saved what was an underwhelming approach to filling out the relief pitching staff. The addition of veteran Jorge Lopez was solid, and Lucas Sims seemed to be an upgrade as well.
Unfortunately, what was considered a weakness entering the 2025 MLB regular season has proven to be just that; a liability.
Finnegan and Lopez have both pitched well at the start, but they haven’t received much help from their teammates.
Sims has already made eight appearances, filling the workhorse load that Derek Law would normally own. But, with Law on the injured list, someone else had to be called upon, and it was the veteran free agent signing, who has not come close to expectations.
He has an 8.44 ERA in 5.1 innings. His 48 ERA+ is the second worst amongs relievers on the team, with Colin Poche being the only player lower wih a 22.
There were high hopes for Jose A. Ferrer coming into the campaign, but he has yet to find his groove either.
In his six appearances he has thrown 5.2 innings and has a 6.35 ERA. Orlando Ribalta has a 5.87 ERA and Poche is at an astronomical 20.25 ERA.
Overall, the bullpen has combined for a -0.5 WAR to start, aided by the 0.4 WAR Finnegan has produced and Brad Lord’s stellar spot start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Nationals are certainly missing the services of Hunter Harvey, whom they traded to the Kansas City Royals ahead of the deadline last year in exchange for third base prospect Cayden Wallace and cash considerations.
He pitched very well for Washington across parts of three seasons, making 137 appearances and throwing 145 innings, recording an ERA of 3.17 to go along with 162 strikeouts.
Harvey suffered an injury after only six appearances with the Royals last year, but has bounced back in a major way in 2025.
Jared Greenspan of MLB.com has highlighted him as one of the 10 players who have returned from injury and found a lot of success out of the gate this year.
“He’s not throwing as hard as he typically does -- his four-seamer averages 95.3 mph, which would be a career-low -- but his peripherals are nonetheless strong…Alongside Lucas Erceg and Carlos Estévez, Harvey is emerging as a key cog in a strong bullpen,” he wrote.
He has been dominant, making six appearances and tossing 5.1 shutout innings with seven strikeouts. Only one hit has been recorded against him and he has yet to walk a batter.
That level of performance would certainly look nice in the Nationals' bullpen, as their reliever have cost them a chance to win a few games already over the first two weeks of the campaign.
