Veteran closer Joe Nathan has been told he will not make the Nationals and has opted out of his minor-league deal with the team, according to tweets from various reporters, including Jamal Collier of MLB.com and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. The Nationals have announced that they’ve formally released Nathan, along with fellow righty Matt Albers. The Nats signed both pitchers to minor-league deals in late January.
The 42-year-old Nathan missed much of the past two seasons after having Tommy John surgery, though he fared well (albeit in a very small sample) in 6 1/3 innings with the Cubs and Giants last year. He’s now over three years removed from his last full, strong season in the big leagues — he posted a 1.39 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while making the All-Star team for the Rangers in 2013. He has 377 career saves, but he’s not done — he hopes to latch on with another team, as MASN’s Mark Zuckerman tweets. Nathan did post a solid 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 innings this spring, so teams in need of bullpen help could view him as a possibility.
The 34-year-old Albers is coming off a poor season with the White Sox in which he posted a 6.31 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 51 1/3 innings. He was effective in several consecutive seasons with various clubs before that, however, and seems unlikely to have trouble finding a minor-league deal elsewhere should he seek one.
I’m surprised the Red Sox haven’t worked out Swihart at third, given their lack of depth at the position, and trying to find a way to get him in the lineup.
They have Holt and Rutledge with the parent club and Marrero, Hernandez, and Witte in AAA. In a pinch they could use Hanley as well. They seem dead set on him sticking at catcher for now.
Um and they already have their 3rd baseman of the future in Deveres who is only a few years away. I see them giving Panda a second chance at the position and from what he has done so far during spring training he is in line for a bounce back season. Plus they have less depth at catcher than they do at third. At catcher they only have Leon Vasquez and Seihart, after that they don’t really have anything
A guy 2 years away from being ready isn’t really depth, plus Devers is a mess at 3B. His footwork is terrible which kills his accuracy and he looks stiffer than a board fielding ground balls. His future is at 1B/DH.
Wrong post.
Some people must have their daily Swihart/Seihart/Swihardt fix.
Do you think that Nathan gets a ring for his 6 1/3 innings last year?
Yes. If you played for a team at one point, you get a ring.
He only pitched 2 innings for the Cubs. 4 for the Giants.
Dan Uggla went 0-11 with 6 K’s with Giants in 2014 and still got a ring. At least Nathan was productive in his small sample size!
Nats look to be going with Glover, Kelley, and Treinen Solis, and Perez in the pen, which should be good enough to win the East. If not they can always get a closer at the deadline.
Sure, the Nationals could win the N.L. East with that bullpen but their chances would be enhanced with a proven closer, as would the odds of a deeper postseason run. The bullpen in general and the question mark concerning their closer still remains the clubs biggest “Achilles heel” heading into the 2017 season.
The front office acknowledged this in their attempt to shore up the pen this offseason with additions from outside the organization but they failed to land a proven closer in free agency or via trade and they’ve now also released two other veterans in Joe Nathan and Matt Albers whom they thought might help in some capacity.
I’m still picking the Nats to squeak by the Mets in a close divisional race but I don’t have them advancing far in the playoffs primarily because of the questions that surround their pen in general and the closer in particular. And yes, they could acquire that closer as the summer trade deadline approaches but that delay could also affect their chances in securing the division title in an expected close race with the Mets.
Any chance the Dodgers take a chance on Nathan?
They could hire Nathan’s to make their Dodger Dogs.