Questions about the Washington Nationals bullpen seem to have slowed with confidence in closer Sean Doolittle. If things don’t go well, how long will Dave Martinez give him to work things out?
The 2017 season included plenty of talk about the Washington Nationals bullpen and its disastrous state. Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley, and Koda Glover worked the ninth inning at the start of the season. Each of them failed.
After that trio, the Nationals tried whoever they could. Guys like Enny Romero and Matt Albers failed, leading to the acquisition of three veterans with closer experience.
Before the trade deadline passed, the Nationals were able to add Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson in a trade with the Oakland Athletics. In a separate deal, they picked up Brandon Kintzler from the Minnesota Twins. Doolittle was the pick to pitch the final frame, which turned out to be the right move.
Doolittle’s closer experience, while limited, has been rather successful. He succeeded with the Nationals in 2017 as the closer. There’s no reason to think he’ll be unable to continue this success into 2018 except for the fact that the Nationals haven’t been consistently stable at the closer spot.
Like the Washington Capitals goalie or the Washington Redskins quarterback, the Washington Nationals closer is a position with a big bright spotlight. Last year made it shine brighter. The pressure is on Doolittle to live up to last season’s numbers.
Sean Doolittle as the Closer
In 30 appearances for the Washington Nationals in 2017, Sean Doolittle worked a 2.40 ERA and saved 21 games. His numbers were strong across the board. Doolittle didn’t get through with lucky breaks. He pitched well in his role and earned those beautiful numbers.
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The issue some may have with Doolittle is that he has never spent a full season as a closer. In 2014, he took over for Jim Johnson early on. Injuries curtailed his stint as the closer. It wasn’t until he joined the Nationals in mid-2017 when he’d stay as the ninth inning man for months at a time.
Essentially, it’s Doolittle’s lack of experience keeping some from feeling fully confident.
How Short is Sean Doolittle’s Leash?
Because the 2018 season means so much and the Washington Nationals have other options, I don’t see Dave Martinez having much patience for Sean Doolittle. Whether it’s his call or not, it’s tough to envision a scenario where the Nationals allow Doolittle to lose lots of April games. This season is their last opportunity to win with the core in place. A closer cannot ruin those chances.
Doolittle could see his job usurped by Ryan Madson or Brandon Kintzler before April is through. I would imagine the Nationals could always consider putting Koda Glover in the role again. Although, he’ll first need to prove he can handle the earlier frames.
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Like with any other closers, it’s a matter of Doolittle blowing a few games in a row as possible. No reliever is perfect. To keep the closer gig, Doolittle needs to ensure those mulligans don’t happen too often, too close together.