A Few Good Men: 28 - Coffey

That's right...IT'S COFFEY TIME!

Todd Coffey - Age 31 - 6 Years MLB Service

How He Became A Nat: Signed a 1-year deal January 24th.

The Raw Numbers:
IP - 59.2
ERA - 3.62
WHIP - 1.257
WAR - 0.4

Key Stat: HR/9 - 0.6. This was the key to any effectiveness he had in the middle innings. Do not allow the big blow (that's what she said). When a reliever gives up a HR, it is most likely a huge momentum swing, either narrowing his team's lead, or putting his team in a bigger hole. Todd avoided giving up home runs (only 4 on the season) and helped keep the Nats alive or ahead at a consistent rate. And when he did give up runs, he avoided crooked numbers, allowing more than 1 run in an appearance only 5 times in 69 games.

Best Game: May 13 against the Fish. A heartbreaking extra-innings loss. But Coffey managed to shine, retiring 7 of the 8 batter's he faced, while bridging the gap to the back end of the pen after a less than robust start from Tom Gorzelanny. (Special mention: Every other game he pitched in... the sprint to the mound is awesome!)

Worst Game: July 20th against the Astros, his only Loss of the year. Called on to pitch the 11th inning in a 2-2 game Todd gave up 3 hits over the course of 4 batters, allowing the Astros to walk off with a 3-2 win.

CapBall Grade: B-. It's hard to show real value as a middle reliever who doesn't close and rarely pitches in traditional set-up innings, but Todd Coffey provided a quality arm to bridge the gap to Clippard and Storen. He didn't have lights out stuff, but that's why he wasn't asked to close. He did what he was asked, and did it fairly well.

2012 Nats Status: Up in the air. If he languishes on the Free Agent market, I can see him returning on a team friendly 1-year deal. But all things considered, the Nats want to get younger and if a younger, more controllable option appears via trade or free agency, Coffey won't be back.