Washington Nationals: Nightmare season gets worse

2018 has not gone to plan for the Washington Nationals. Now, their nightmare season has managed to get even worse.

After years of being their Achilles heel, the Washington Nationals‘ bullpen was finally viewed as a strength this season. Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler, and Kelvin Herrera had all been acquired since last summer, forming a dominant quartet. In addition to the late-inning group, Matt Grace, Justin Miller, Shawn Kelley, and Wander Suero each exceeded expectations.

It seemed that the days of a shaky bullpen in DC were long gone. Then, much like their 2018 season, the Nats’ bullpen fell apart.

Shortly before the All-Star Break, Doolittle was placed on the disabled list with a strained toe. It was sold as a precautionary move at the time, but he will remain on the disabled list when the calendar flips to September.

With Doolittle out, Herrera was named the interim closer. Herrera was having an All-Star-caliber season as the Royals’ closer prior to being dealt to the Nats, so everything would be okay, until it wasn’t. He was pitching through a shoulder injury, which led to diminished results.

Meanwhile, Kintzler and Kelley were jettisoned around the trade deadline. Kintzler was dealt to the Cubs because he was believed to be the anonymous source in a troubling article regarding the Nats’ clubhouse. Kelley, on the other hand, was shipped to Oakland for spiking his glove on the mound and glaring into the dugout after surrendering a home run in a blow out, a move that was perceived as showing up Dave Martinez.

All of a sudden, without Doolittle, Kintzler, and Kelley, the Nats’ bullpen was no longer the strength it once was. Add in the fact that Herrera and Madson were pitching through injuries, and reliable relievers were hard to come by in DC.

After missing a few weeks with a shoulder injury, Herrera was finally activated from the disabled list. Unfortunately, he would not remain on the active roster for long.

On Sunday afternoon, the Nats were leading the Mets 15-0 in the ninth. This is obviously not a situation you would typically use your closer in, but Herrera had not pitched in a few days and informed Martinez that he needed work. Respecting Herrera’s wish, Martinez called upon him to close the game out.

However, Herrera would only record two outs.

Jose Bautista hit a weak ground ball between the mound and first base that Herrera elected to field and take to first himself. Unfortunately, he severely injured his foot on the way to first. He completed the play but fell to the ground in pain shortly after.

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The next day, team doctors confirmed what everyone already knew: Herrera’s season was over. He was lucky enough to avoid a ruptured Achilles, which was speculated to be the injury, but he tore the Lisfranc ligament in his left foot. He may have been able to return if the injury occurred earlier in the season, but only a month remains.

To make matters worse, Herrera was one of the Nats’ best trade chips. With their season likely over, he could have been traded to a contender for prospects or salary relief. The Nats would like to get under the luxury tax threshold if possible, and getting rid of Herrera’s contract would have made their goal much more achievable.

For the Nats, this is just the latest unfortunate event in their nightmare season. For Herrera, this is his second significant injury in a contract year. After years of being a reliable reliever, this is not how he envisioned heading into free agency.

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2018 has not gone to plan for Kelvin Herrera or the Washington Nationals. Herrera’s season-ending injury occurring in a 15-run game just about sums it up for both parties.

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