Bullpen in 2026: Who's next?

[welch]

Somewhat surprising that it wasn't Ribalta. He had a couple days off so would be available.

Is Ribalta eligible to return?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Is Ribalta eligible to return?

would have been to replace Beeter. You do not have to stay down a minimum number of games when you replace an injured player.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Why did I think Schultz was a lefty

[Squab]

Why did I think Schultz was a lefty

I had this exact same thought today!

[Slateman]

Is Ribalta eligible to return?

Five more days. Sent down on the 17th

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Sam Sallick  profiles Lovelady as he is gradually assuming a higher leverage role in the bullpen.

https://www.federalbaseball.com/washington-nationals-analysis/90549/the-nomadic-richard-lovelady-finally-found-love-with-washington-nationals
Notes that, while RL's fastball is only around 91.5 MPH, his tremendous extension (98th percentile) makes it play better. Also  points out that his WHIP (1.76) is elevated in part due to 3 IBBs in 5.2 innings. Has not issued a walk since his debut when some of us here were prepared to push him off a bridge.

Lovelady’s most used pitch this season is his sweeper, which he throws over 40% of the time. Despite the heavy usage, batters are only hitting .167 against the pitch. Lovelady has been great at generating ground balls and keeping the ball off the barrel this season.

This mix has allowed Lovelady to post a 2.77 ERA in 11 outings on the season. With the Nats that number is even lower, at 1.59. Those are not bad numbers for a guy who has been DFA’d five times by the Mets alone in the last calendar year.
...
Lovelady is a guy who thrives in certain matchups, particularly against left handed hitters. That means the manager is more likely to intentionally walk a tough righty, which artificially inflates Lovelady’s WHIP. While Lovelady has 5 walks in 5.2 innings, he has not issued an unintentional walk since his first outing.

[Squab]

share link for Athletic story this morning about 2nd jobs some guys had in the minors (I think, I haven't read it yet)

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7236476/2026/04/29/nationals-players-jobs-mlb-late-draft-picks/?unlocked_article_code=1.elA._PiW.vl6ObcZLXwkC&source=athletic_user_shared_gift_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Fantastic article that focuses on Nats pitchers. Because so many were late picks, most of them worked odd jobs in the offseason just to be able to afford playing. Getting added to the mlb roster, even as a rule 5, was a break that enabled them to focus on training in the offseason.

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

Something very on brand about Lerner employees moonlighting for Uber and Amazon.

[IanRubbish]

Something very on brand about Lerner employees moonlighting for Uber and Amazon.

...and DoorDash

Good article by Nusbaum.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Bullpen performance on this road trip:

4/24 ChiSox - Riley Cornelio game ...
4/25 ChiSox - 4.1 IP, 2 ER, 3H, 4 BB, 5 K
4/26 ChiSox - 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K
4/28 mets - 4.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2Ks
4/29 mets - 3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2Ks
4/30 mets - 5 ip, 1 ER, 4 hits, 1 BB, 1K

So, the last 5 games of the trip, it's 19.2 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, 8 BB, 14 K. That's a WHIP under 1 and an ERA under 1.50.

[imref]

Cornelio was unfortunately, not great.

[imref]

Nats signing RHP Max Kranick to a one year deal. He's coming off TJ. Was effective fro the Mets in 2025 before he went down.

https://www.mlb.com/player/max-kranick-668820

No announcement yet of a 40-man move.  MLBTR says he won't be ready to pitch yet so probably heads right to the 60-day.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Butera generally has been good at avoiding using relievers on consecutive days. Occasionally, some bottom end guys will wear one for the team after a short appearance the day before, but I spotted only one abusive day, 4/8 vs the Cardinals. That game, he left Henry in for 43 pitches trying to go 2 innings after he had thrown 16 the game before, then went to Poulin on consecutive days to try to get out of the mess Henry couldn't finish.

It was a 4-1 Cards game when Henry came in. Low lev. Lord and Perez had already pitched earlier after Mikolas was pulled after 3 (and allowing 2 runs). Varland had  blown a lead the day before, and Beeter and Schultz had also pitched. With 5 relievers used the day before and 2 others prior to the 8th, perhaps there was going to be a need for some back to backs that day. Henry threw 22 pitches in a clean 8th. Had Butera pulled the plug at that point, it would have just been simply abuse of one of your better relievers, but he brought Henry back for the 9th, when he blew up and. Infamously, Henry's one time was called out as abuse here by Slate, and may have been the start of the latest arm issues. That seems like the worst bullpen management so far this year.

Use so far on consecutive days for main relievers:

Varland - 13 games, one time on consecutive days (4/25 & 26 - 18 pitches  total)
Lovelady - 6 Games with Nats, 2x on consecutive days (4/17 & 18 - 51 pitches; 4/23&24 - 21 pitches)
Poulin - 16 games, 4x on consecutive days
Perez - 15 games, 2x on consecutive days (4/5&6 - 41 pitches;  4/10&11 - 28 pitches)
Lord - 10 games, 0x consecutive days
Parker - 5 games, 0x consecutive
Schultz - 7 games, 1x consecutive
Granillo - 6 games, 1x consecutive
Henry - 7 games, 1x consecutive (16 pitches then 43)
Beeter - 10 games, 1x consecutive
Waldichuk - 5 games, 0x consecutive

More or less, other than Poulin, Butera generally  avoids back to back. Granillo was sent down after the second game of his back to back; that one, he was clearly taking some abuse for the team. After a 5 pitch appearance on 4/16, Schultz did 3 innings of middle relief when Littell blew up for his 1 back to back.

In two of Poulin's consecutive appearances, he threw 20 and 24 pitches total; once he threw 42, 15 after 27, but that second appearance was to get one out at the end of the Henry game noted above on 4/8. The final back to back was 4/19 & 20, where he came in behind Irvin and blew a lead in the 6th; on that occasion, he threw 11 pitches after 16 the day before.

[welch]

Max Kranick is the enxt in; Granillo should be gone.

Nussbaum writes:

The Washington Nationals are signing right-handed reliever Max Kranick to a major-league deal, league sources told The Athletic on Friday. The 28-year-old last pitched in the majors for the New York Mets in 2025, holding a 3.65 ERA in 24 appearances. It is not yet clear who the corresponding move will be, given that the deal is pending a physical.

Kranick had elbow surgery last July, but has seemed to recuperate his stuff in the 10 months that followed. His fastball sat around 94-95 mph at a recent showcase, which isn’t far off last year’s velocity. For Washington, he will slot into the bullpen, though he has interest in the future in becoming a starting pitcher.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7246091/2026/05/01/nationals-sign-pitcher-max-kranick/

[aspenbubba]

Granillo should never been brought back

[aspenbubba]

Perez cleared waivers and sent to Rochester. Opens a slot on the 40 man  (Kranick?)

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Interesting that perez could clear waivers and be outrighted that fast. He pitched last night.

Ribalta up. Granillo survives

[aspenbubba]

Get Granillo the hell off this team. He sucks and doesn’t belong on any MLB team.

[Slateman]

Get Granillo the hell off this team. He sucks and doesn’t belong on any MLB team.

Agreed. Dubin opened for Cornelio last night, so I assume he is close to being called up

[imref]

Julian Fernandez has now gone 9 consecutive appearances in Rochester without allowing a hit. Maybe he should be up?

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Julian Fernandez has now gone 9 consecutive appearances in Rochester without allowing a hit. Maybe he should be up?

It's pleasant problem, but I don't think anyone in the current bullpen has  pitched themselves off the island.

[imref]

Trevor Gott has a 2.93 ERA at Rochester.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

https://www.federalbaseball.com/washington-nationals-analysis/90858/the-washington-nationals-have-found-unlikely-closer-gus-varland
Sam Sallick describes Varland's keys to success:

He throws a mid-90’s fastball with a lot of carry at the top of the zone and a high 80’s bullet slider that plays well off the heater. Varland throws each pitch about half of the time, and dares hitters to beat him.

Both of Varland’s pitches are good, but neither is a truly elite pitch. That means the right hander has to execute and control his arsenal. Varland absolutely fills up the zone, which can be rare to see from a reliever. He is only walking 1.84 batters per 9 innings, an elite number. Lately, he just has not been walking anyone at all. The last time Gus Varland issued a walk was on April 14th.

More thoughts on the general approach of Toboni to building a bullpen:

When building a bullpen, you do not need to splash the cash. Sure, a couple free agent additions can be helpful, but you can build a good bullpen with lesser known guys. Instead of paying stale veterans like Lucas Sims and Jorge Lopez, Paul Toboni has built the bullpen a different way. He is trying to find undervalued talent and cycle through guys until he finds the right mix. Gus Varland has been the biggest success story so far.

Also mentions Lovelady and Schultz as other successes for this approach. Recognizes that not every pickup will work out as well.

For me, I prefer one anchor in the bullpen to build around, then throwing spaghetti at the wall to see who else sticks (ie, the Toboni approach). Maybe Varland turns into the anchor. It would be great to stabilize the bullpen just with pickups, but the very few guys who are good year after year deserve a premium. I do buy that many of the vets brought in in the past were not worth the premiums, but how different was Lucas Sims and Screwthe Poche from the older guys brought in this year?

[aspenbubba]

Besides Varland I'm really liking Parker. A great turn around.