Washington Nationals 2025 Season

THE LEAD

At what point is Mike Rizzo going to be embarrassed enough by this atrocious bullpen to do something about it? At what point are Mark Lerner and the rest of his family going to allow him to spend like even a medium-market franchise, let alone a big-market one? Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. And this is the worst bullpen that Rizzo - who has a long history of building bad bullpens - has ever put together. After last night’s seventh-inning meltdown by Jorge López (he of the glove-tossing incident while a member of the Mets last year) and Eduardo Sálazar (who can cruise through two innings in a six-run game but is practically guaranteed to serve up batting practice if brought into even a medium-leverage situation), the bullpen ERA is at 7.21, the worst March/April in Nationals history thus far by well over a run and overall only trailing May 2019 (8.19), when Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough proved again and again that they were no longer MLB-caliber pitchers. Davey Martinez had a closed-door meeting with this relief corps fewer than 48 hours ago and then they go and blow up a game on the heels of yet another very good Mitchell Parker start.

For all the talk over the winter and spring from management about how it’s time to “hit the gas” and starting winning games and not just moral victories, their actions speak a helluva lot louder than their words right now. They have a superstar talent in James Wood, who looks at 22 like he can be in MVP conversations in the very near future. But to do that, he would probably need to play somewhere other than what is one of the least relevant - in any conceivable way - franchises in the league, an organization that right now is giving him tons of lessons both big and small in being losers. It’s a shame. Sell the team, Mark.

 Washington Nationals 2025 Season

Game Recap

Mitchell Parker continues to exceed all reasonable expectations for him this year, tossing six excellent and efficient innings marred only by Pirates catcher Henry Davis lining one off of the foul pole in the fifth. Parker struck out the first four Pirates he saw yesterday evening and finished with six punchouts for his outing. Unfortunately, his teammates mostly forgot to bring their bats for the second straight night, scratching out two singles and a walk in the first eight innings against the extremely JAGgy Bailey Falter. All three of those runners were immediately erased (on a CS and two GIDPs), so the Nats sent the minimum twenty-four batters to the plate before the top of the ninth, when they scored a garbage-time run after a single, a walk, a groundout, and an Alex Call sacrifice fly (of course).

They were in garbage time because of López and Sálazar’s performances in the home half of the seventh. López opened the frame by allowing consecutive singles to Isaiah Kiner-Falefa and Enmanuel Valdez. With runners on first and third, he induced a ground ball to third baseman Amed Rosario, but Rosario had to wait for the shattered barrel to whizz past his head first before pouncing on the slower ball, which eliminated any possibility of a double play OR trying to throw out IKF at the plate. López then got another grounder, this time to short (holding Valdez at second), before plunking Bryan Reynolds to put two men on. Then the real fun began.

With noted Nats killer Andrew McCutchen at the plate, López lost a 1-1 fastball that came within an inch of clipping Cutch in the forehead of his helmet as he ducked out of the way, which brought Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton out of the dugout to complain. Then the umpires convened , the Pirates and López started jawing with each other, the benches cleared, and eventually order was restored. Given that López had hit one batter, almost hit another (I do not believe it was remotely intentional, he was on the verge of escaping the inning while allowing just one run), the jawing with the Pirates, and there was the specter of the Paul DeJong beaning the night before, it was understandable that the umpire crew decided to eject López, and so Davey called on Sálazar the arsonist to come in and finish the at-bat and the inning. Sálazar immediately threw two balls to walk Cutch and load the bases, followed by a first-pitch grand slam from the Pirates’ own huge freak athlete, Oneil Cruz. And just like that, the Nats were down and essentially out for the count.

 STORY TYPE

Who Goes First?

Rizzo cannot in good conscience allow this bullpen farce to continue, and at some point the Lerners will have to scrounge enough change from the couch cushions to allow him to make some moves. In a shocking twist for the Nats, the homegrown guys (Brad Lord, Jose A. Ferrer, Jackson Rutledge, Cole Henry, and Orlando Ribalta - whom Davey immediately sent to the IL through poor usage thanks to the other guys) plus Kyle Finnegan have mostly looked good, while it is the imports (free agents López, Lucas Sims, and Colin Poche, along with 2024 waiver wire pickup Sálazar) who have been nightmarish. That foursome has the following stat line: 25.2 innings, 37 hits, 23 walks, 22 strikeouts, 28 earned runs, 12 inherited runners scored, 9.82 ERA, 2.455 WHIP. Those are ugly, ugly numbers, with a flight to Denver tonight in advance of the weekend series there tomorrow looming. Do Rizzo and Davey let these guys wear it for another weekend before they (hopefully) make some changes? I’m not holding my breath that Mark is going to green light jettisoning either of the second and third-most expensive relievers on the roster (López and Sims), let alone both of them.

 STORY TYPE

Herz Has TJ Surgery

After seeking multiple opinions in an effort to avoid the zipper, DJ Herz did indeed undergo Tommy John surgery yesterday in Dallas, officially ending his 2025 season and probably knocking him out of action until May or June of 2026. Hopefully Herz is able to recover quickly (more along the lines of Spencer Strider than Cade Cavalli) and return to build on the promise he showed down the stretch of the 2024 season for the Nationals.

AD

Wake up with Peet’s Coffee and the Morning Briefing

Peet’s Coffee is crafted for those who crave delicious coffee without the brewing; this versatile blend holds its own in any creation. Silky-smooth and delicious, hot or cold, it takes just one tablespoon and a couple of moments to whip up whatever cup you're craving. Order yours today to take advantage of their limited-time intro price.

 WHAT WE THINK THE NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE IS READING

Speed Reads

📌 Speaking of TJ Recovery (Yahoo!)

📌 #1 Overall Picks Have a Big Day (MLB)

📌 How Hitting Metrics Are Changing (The Athletic)