The Nationals have agreed to a deal with righty Kevin Jepsen, according to Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (Twitter link). It’s a minors pact with a July 26th opt-out opportunity, Jon Heyman of Fan Rag tweets.
Jepsen, who’ll soon turn 33, recently put on a showcase in hopes of landing a new opportunity. He spent the spring with the Diamondbacks, but struggled in game action and was released before the start of the season.
There’s no sugar-coating Jepsen’s struggles in 2016. He threw 49 2/3 innings of 5.98 ERA ball for the Twins and Rays, with only 6.3 K/9 against 3.8 BB/9. Though he didn’t lose much on his mid-nineties fastball, Jepsen posted a 8.3% swinging-strike rate that fell short of his numbers over the prior two seasons.
If the drop in strikeouts wasn’t enough, Jepsen also struggled to manage contact, permitting hard contact at a career-worst 37.5% rate. Once a strong groundball pitcher, he managed to induce them at only a 31.1% clip while also allowing 2.2 homers per nine innings.
Still, there’s probably some hope of a return to form. Jepsen carried a 2.33 ERA over 69 2/3 innings in 2015 and was able to post 10.1 K/9 in his successful 2014 campaign. The Nationals will take a look at him over the coming weeks, just as they are doing with veteran Francisco Rodriguez, as the team decides upon a course of action at the trade deadline.
and the nationals bullpen gets even worse
*minor league bullpen
Minors and it is a no risk deal to see if they catch lightning in a bottle.
Certainly the Nats don’t truly believe these scrap heap signings are going to solve their closer issues. These guys are unemployed for a reason.
Surely they don’t. You’re correct. They signed them to minor-league deals for a reason.
So are these just strictly depth signings for the minor leagues and nothing else? Or do the Nationals believe that they can contribute to the the major league squad?
Both can opt out in a few weeks, so they are basically tryouts. Just see how they are throwing, compare to the guys currently on the MLB roster, and continue pursuing trades. Gives a few more options.
None of this really bears on the possibility of adding a closer, I don’t think. Or even that of adding both a closer and a significant setup man. This is more, “could these guys be better than Albers/Turner/Blanton? let’s take a zero-risk shot to find out” than “can this guy be the missing piece?”
just trade for a closer already
Any relation to Carly?
This guy asking the real important questions over here…
You should ask her. Call her, maybe.
well played
+1
#GoFundMe
Nats in desperation mode. See what sticks I guess.
They are cruising in the division, so there’s little reason to rush into a major trade.
That’s a good point
They will want a major bullpen upgrade to help them in the Postseason, even though a lot is luck there it will make sence for the Nats to get controlable relievers before the Deadline, the bullpen is clearly a spot the Nats can improve.
Next thing you know the Nats will be holding open tryouts for RP’s in their parking lot.
I’m surprised they hadn’t made a play for Jeanmar after he was released
price of right field bleacher sheets sky rocket!
They are just giving him and K-Rod a chance in case they come back to their best, they should go and get 2 quality relievers. Maybe they get Doolittle and Madson from Oakland for Victor Robles and AJ Cole (again)
That’s way to much to give up for them. They could get Hand and Maurer for Robles and a fringy prospect.
I think it’s more likely Hand/Maurer remain Padres than it is Washington trading Robles for relievers without an elite track record/pedigree
Well, that’s a trade I’d like to see as an A’s fan. But I mean Robles is just a prospect, who hasn’t played over A+ and Madson and Doolittle are good ML relievers with Doolittle pitching great recently and having him on a club friendly deal till 2020. I know he gets injured often, but I don’t think a trade like this is a science-fiction dream, remember what the Yankees got for Miller or the Phillies for Ken Giles?
They wouldn’t trade Robles for a big OF piece, why would they do it for bullpen help?
They won’t.
They still gave up a lot for Eaton and if they want the best relievers available they either give up Robles or offer a package of Soto/Feede/ Kieboom. I’d rather get one Robles, some teams might say: Robles or go away!
robles is off limits for a deal for a closer. Now way he’s in a deal
Gonna have 17 man bullpen n still blow saves!
This is another minor league signing. Call it a try out. Nothing lost but might be better than what they have now. Sure doesn’t stop them from trading for help later. They see no need to rush into a trade and with their current lead in the division neither do I.
I wish they’d call the Twins and try to get Matt Belisle back.
Ad in Today’s Washington Newspapers.
SEEKING CLOSER – DO YOU HAVE CLOSINH EXPERIENCE WITHIN THE LAST 5 YEARS? IF SO CALL NATIONALS FRONT OFFICE.
WE ARE IN DIRE NEED AND NOT WILLING TO MAKE A TRADE TO INCLUDE A PROSPECT
not rushing into a trade isn’t a bad idea, but this isn’t exactly a new problem. the bullpen was a major question mark since the beginning of the season and has taken several hits (players to the DL) since then. i’d say they are about due to make a decision…..