Potential Nationals Free Agency Target Set to Sign One-Year Deal Elsewhere
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The Washington Nationals need help in their bullpen, but their plan for how they are going to upgrade that unit isn't clear in the early stages of the offseason.
How much money they will spend or how aggressive they are going to be in the trade market isn't known, so it's hard to put together a realistic list of targets president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office might have on their board.
However, someone who could have been on the list was Emilio Pagan. The 35-year-old right-handed reliever hit free agency after a somewhat disappointing season where he posted a 3.38 ERA over 45 appearances with 25 saves in 28 opportunities.
Teams around the league were expected to have interest in the veteran closer, and now he has quickly been scooped off the market.
Tigers Set to Sign Emilio Pagan
Per Jon Heyman of The New York Post, the Detroit Tigers and Pagan have agreed to a one-year deal that is worth around $11 million. The full details of the contract will be released at a later date, but one of the Nationals' potential closer targets is now unavailable for them to sign.
However, for that price, Washington might not have had interest in Pagan.
While it's just a one-year pact, that is a lot of money to commit for someone entering their age-36 season after they dealt with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that put him on the shelf for nearly two months during the 2026 campaign. His strikeout rate also dipped down to 25.9%, which is still above the league average, but it was his lowest since 2023. Add in the fact that his ground-ball rate of 26.3%, his hard-hit rate of 45.6% and his barrel rate of 10.5% were all well below the league average, and there are some things in his profile that might have caused the Nationals to balk.
Still, compared to what Washington has had in their bullpen the last few years, adding someone like Pagan would have been a major upgrade. But with him now off the market, the Nationals will have to look elsewhere.
Who Nationals Could Target Now That Emilio Pagan Has Been Signed
Like stated above, it's not clear who Washington is interested in pursuing. While they would almost certainly love to sign someone like Adrian Morejon or David Bednar to be the star in their bullpen, they likely won't be wading in those types of financial waters.
However, Pete Fairbanks could be an option depending on what type of contract he's looking for this winter after he struggled in 2026 with a 6.31 ERA. Bryan Abreu, Alex Vesia and JoJo Romero are other high-profile relievers who will be expensive to sign, but also won't command top-of-the-market prices.
The Nationals could also go the veteran route. Bringing in a combination of arms like Kenley Jansen, Andrew Kittredge, Brooks Raley, Mark Leiter Jr., Carlos Estevez and others would provide some short-term relief for 2027 as the rebuild progresses. And then there's the trade market, with Trevor Megill looking like a prime candidate to be acquired.
It will be interesting to see what Toboni and his staff decide to do. And now that a key domino has fallen with Pagan heading to Detroit, the reliever market could start to see some movement.
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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