Role of Brad Lord Is in Question After Nationals Bolstered Their Starting Rotation
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All of a sudden, the Washington Nationals have a crowded starting pitching unit.
That was not something that could have been said entering the offseason when looking at that group on paper. But some savvy moves by the front office where they added veteran arms on short-term deals and players returning from injury has made it so there are real options when manager Blake Butera finalizes his roster for Opening Day.
Someone whose role is now in question is right-hander Brad Lord. While president of baseball operations Paul Toboni firmly stated they are going to give Lord every opportunity to earn a starting spot this spring, he also left the door open for a possible move to the bullpen.
Reliever Might Be Best Role for Brad Lord
"We're going to give [Lord] every shot to start," Toboni stated on Feb. 12, which made sense at the time when looking at the state of the rotation. But since then, Washington added Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell, and Josiah Gray was given a clean bill of health and has looked solid during his spring starts thus far.
Because of that, there's a chance Lord gets moved to the bullpen, where he was actually more effective during the 2025 campaign with a 2.79 ERA across 29 appearances compared to his 4.99 ERA across 19 starts.
Lord was also more potent in the strikeout category as a reliever. He rung up 35 batters in 38 2/3 innings coming out of the bullpen compared to 73 K's across 92 innings when starting. A lot of that has to do with him getting worse the more times he faced a batting order, which happens to pitchers across the majors. But that's also a sign the best version of himself might be if he's used as a reliever going forward.
Brad Lord's Overall 'Stuff' Is Still Holding Him Back
A main issue when trying to figure out the best role for Lord is his lack of overall "stuff." FanGraphs had his Stuff+ figure at 86 last year, which is well below the league average of 100. Thomas Nestico's grading was much more kind to Lord's arsenal, with him earning a tjStuff+ grade of 98 during 2025. However, Lord's "stuff" hasn't necessarily improved this spring, with his tjStuff+ coming in at 97 through his three outings.
Not having an elite arsenal that can overwhelm hitters usually doesn't suggest a pitcher will be most effective as a reliever. But it was clear that was the case for Lord last season based on his numbers. The 26-year-old likely won't be just a one-inning guy since he's building up to be a starter this spring. So if he does get moved into the bullpen, he likely takes on the swingman or long relief role.
There's still plenty of time this spring for evaluations to take place, so it's not a given that Lord will be moved into the bullpen instead of being used in the rotation. However, after the Nationals bolstered their starting unit, there is a chance the righty gets converted into a reliever by Opening Day.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai