Washington Nationals: Could Pat Neshek be the bullpen answer?
By Jason Evans
There is no doubt the Washington Nationals need help at the back end of their bullpen. Could Pat Neshek be the answer for them?
The Washington Nationals have a massive lead in the National League East due to the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies continuing their rebuilding process, the New York Mets rash of injuries and the Miami Marlins always seeming to be stuck in neutral.
The bullpen is still their achilles heel. Koda Glover has been injured and ineffective as has Shawn Kelley. Even veteran Matt Albers has gotten a shot to close games this year, securing the first two saves of his 12-year career.
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On the trade market, David Robertson will be out there, but he’s probably going to be pricey as he’s likely the best bullpen arm on the market. The Nationals may decide to look not too far north for bullpen help and within the division instead.
Add #Phillies’ Neshek to list of relievers in whom #Nationals have shown interest. Other teams also in mix. Neshek 0.63 ERA, 25 Ks, 4 BBs.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 22, 2017
The submariner has improved after a rough year last season. Part of it is an uptick in velocity and using his fastball more. Per Fangraphs, Neshek only threw his fastball 39% of the time last year. This year? Up a little over 50%.
There’s also this part to it. Money and the luxury tax.
Neshek owed >$3M, then is FA. #Nationals luxury-tax payroll $192.6M, per Cot’s Baseball Contracts. Threshold $195M. Likely a factor.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 22, 2017
The Phillies won’t be able to get a big time prospect back for him, but they should be able to get something back for him that could be another useful part down the road. My guess is it would be an arm.
Per MLBpipeline.com, only five of the top 15 prospects are pitchers, so it wouldn’t hurt for them to add another arm.
For the Nationals, Neshek doesn’t have a ton of closing experience. The most saves he’s recorded in a season is six back for the St. Louis Cardinals back in 2014, but clearly closing experience is something that they don’t really care about.
Next: Yankees done with Carter/
Neshek would be a nice get for the Nationals. He’s cheap, effective, and is on an expiring contract.
The market should be robust for Neshek if he can keep this up the next month, especially with the lack of impact bullpen arms on the market. Look for this connection to heat up as we get closer to the deadline.