Nationals Should Use Brad Lord in This Role to Maximize Long-Term Viability

Is this the best way for the Washington Nationals to use Brad Lord?

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The Washington Nationals have plenty of decisions to make this offseason.

Now at the top of the list following hiring Paul Toboni to become the team's president of baseball operations is who will manage this franchise going forward. Miguel Cairo has not yet been told his fate, but he is still in the process according to Toboni. However, it's largely expected the Nationals will hire a new skipper.

Once Washington decides who is going to be their manager -- whether that's Cairo or someone else -- attention will largely be given to the roster and how the pieces are going to fit together heading into the 2026 campaign.

Someone the Nationals need to figure out a role for is Brad Lord, the right-handed pitcher who made the 2025 Opening Day roster after a strong showing during spring training. Used as both a starter and a reliever, the numbers he put up indicate how Washington should utilize him going forward.

Nationals Should Convert Brad Lord to Full-Time Reliever

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Lord finished the year with a 4.34 ERA across 48 outings (19 starts). Considering he had his role shifted on multiple occasions, the righty did a good job of being effective no matter how he was used. However, for the Nationals to get the most out of the former 18th-round pick, then putting him in the bullpen full-time should be their course of action.

That's because as a reliever his ERA was a 2.79 across 29 appearances. That was much better than his 19 starts where his ERA was 4.99. Lord also rung up batters at a higher clip when coming out of the bullpen, and he allowed a batting average of .217 as a reliever compared to the .271 figure as a starter.

But beyond that, Mark Zuckerman of MASN highlighted how Lord ran into issues the further into the game he went and the more often opposing hitters saw him throughout a singular contest.

"They batted just .226 and slugged just .313 the first time they faced him in a game, regardless of his role as a starter or reliever. But those numbers jumped to .241 and .448 the second time around, and a whopping .451 and .882 the third time around (though there were only 55 such plate appearances all season)," he wrote.

Brad Lord Would Be More Beneficial as Trusted Bullpen Arm

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Those numbers could improve the further into his career he goes, but it's also not a guarantee that someone with his pedigree will develop into a top-end starting pitcher. With that in mind, having Lord focus on being a bullpen arm would be the best for both sides.

Not only would that put the young right-hander in the best possible spot to succeed in the majors long-term, but the Nationals also need multiple relievers they can trust in important moments, which he showed he can be throughout this past season.

It's not clear right now exactly what role Washington envisions for Lord going forward. But moving him into the bullpen should be the direction they take.