The Washington Nationals had hoped that Trevor Rosenthal would be an upgrade to the bullpen. So far, the early returns have not been promising.
Trevor Rosenthal was certainly worth a gamble for the Washington Nationals. The former All Star closer for the St. Louis Cardinals had undergone Tommy John surgery, missing the entire 2018 campaign. Nonetheless, the Nationals needed pieces for the bullpen, and Rosenthal, on a one year deal worth $8 million, was worth a look.
Needless to say, the early results have not been what Rosenthal and the Nationals were hoping for. Thus far, he has been unable to get anyone out, as he has made four consecutive appearances dating back to his time in St. Louis where he has failed to record an out. That is, as near as can be determined, a major league record.
There were some warning signs in Spring Training. While Rosenthal allowed only three runs in his nine innings of work, he did issue eight walks while allowing seven hits. Rosenthal also hit a batter during his time in Florida, but he was able to notch seven strikeouts. The command may have needed to be refined, but there was enough there to allow him to break camp with the Nationals.
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That decision has proven to be a disaster. In his three outings with the Nationals, he has allowed seven baserunners on four hits and three walks. All seven of those baserunners later came around to score. There was a degree of bad luck, at least in Rosenthal’s first start, as he threw one pitch and allowed a hit.
The stuff would still seem to be there for Rosenthall. His fastball is still averaging over 97 MPH, with a 10 MPH difference between the heater and his changeup. The problem is that Rosenthal has no command over his arsenal right now, not an uncommon issue for players returning from Tommy John surgery.
At this point, Rosenthal is either missing the plate entirely, or getting too much of the plate. When he is over the plate, the opposition is not missing, with 75% of all balls in play being line drives. His extreme fly ball tendencies have been even more pronounced as he is getting more of the plate as well.
The Nationals may not have an option but to let Rosenthal work through these issues, unless he develops a phantom arm issue necessitating a trip to the injured list and a rehab assignment. Otherwise, Rosenthal may need to shift into a long relief/mop up role until he can prove that he is able to actually get a batter out.
The Washington Nationals are not getting what they had hoped for from Trevor Rosenthal. Unless he can find his command, it may be some time until he returns to being the pitcher they expect.