Nats Pull Plug on Broderick, Recall Kimball

What started as a fantastic spring training devolved into a miserable regular season for Rule 5 pick, Brian Broderick. Early Saturday morning the Nats decided to finally cut bait with the big right-hander. Being a Rule 5 pick, if Broderick clears waivers the Nats will have to offer Broderick back to his original team, the Cardinals. After that happens the Cards can either take him back or choose to make a trade with the Nats so that Broderick would be assigned to the minors.

Coming up into his place is going to be 6' 3" righty and 2006, 12th round draft pick, Cole Kimball. Who has put up fantastic numbers at AAA Syracuse this year.

Kimball started his professional career as a starter, but after two years of struggles someone decided to make him a reliever. And after getting the kinks out in 2009, Cole really made the leap to excellence in 2010. His ERA dropped from 6.36 to 2.17, WHIP from 1.65 to 1.13, and strikeout totals nearly doubled from 52 to 101. It seemed that Kimball, at age 25, was ready to take the next step into the majors.

So far this season, Kimball has appeared in 12 games, is a perfect 5 for 5 in save opportunities and has yet to allow a run. His 9.2 K/9 ratio and 1.17 WHIP against AAA opposition should fare him well in the Majors.

At the very least, it offers the Nats some confidence in the bullpen that they lacked with Broderick.

Chad Gaudin Has to Gau...

Hooray bad puns. But seriously, let's cut to the chase, Chad Gaudin has been terrible this season. When the Nats acquired Gaudin in the offseason, there was some thought he might even get the 5th starting rotation spot. After an average spring, Gaudin was given the the de facto long reliever role, as he was a starter as recently as 2009 with the Yankees. But his need in that role diminished as all Nationals starters have gone at least 5 innings in every game this season. Instead, he was placed in numerous mop up roles and non-clutch situations.

In those appearances, though, he's given up 10 runs (6 earned) in just 8.1 innings this season. Of all current Nationals relievers, he has the highest BB/9 (walks per 9 innings) at 8.6. No one should be surprised about that, especially if they saw him pitch against the Pirates on Monday night at PNC Park. He threw behind two different right-handed batters in just 2/3 of an inning. The only person on the entire 25-man roster that has a higher ERA than Gaudin (6.48) is the rookie Brian Broderick (7.36).

As Mac wrote about yesterday in The Bullpen Issue, the Nats bullpen has struggled mightily this season, largely due to a big changeover in "the other guys." Who are "the other guys?" People not named Storen, Burnett, and Clippard, of course. Gaudin, however, is at the center of the issue. Who reads this blog, despite his early season numbers, and wouldn't rather see Collin Balester on the 25-man roster than Chad Gaudin? I don't think many, but tell me if I'm wrong.

We here at the blog hope that Henry Rodriguez is ready to appear in the bigs soon, because who couldn't use a high-90s throwing reliever? Rizzo might also have to use some of that free agent money early in the season to get another reliever, otherwise the bullpen stars of Clipp, Stor, and Burn are going to get used into oblivion in games where the Nats are competitive. It's unfair to give Riggleman a bullpen of 7 guys when he only truly feels comfortable using 3 of them in close games. And the first one to go has to be Chad Gaudin.

Nats Drop Opening Series to Braves

So, in a span of 3 games we have seen exactly what the Nationals plan to offer this year; good and bad. Starting the season last Thursday, the Home team put forth an anemic effort against Derek Lowe, scoring 0 runs and managing just 5 hits. Saturday we saw glimpses of what this team is capable of, winning a 6-3 decision that saw the Nats lead almost the whole game. And on Sunday, we saw a last years Nats (errors, bullpen implosions, random balks, etc.) en route to an 11-2 thrashing despite a solid outing by Jordan Zimmermann. To recap such a weekend's events, we have the Zuckablog taking on the Starting Pitchers role, while Kilgore takes on the progress of last years Nats that have moved on. Time to pick up the pieces.

The Good:
- Danny Espinosa is 4 for 9 with 2 doubles.
- Jayson Werth has shown why we are paying him the big bucks, going 4 for 10 with 2 doubles and 3 walks. Though he has had a few misplays in the outfield.
- Nats have just 1 error in their first 3 games (and its not Ian Desmond!). There have been several displays of improved defense by our infielders/new arrivals (Zim, Espi, LaRoche, and Werth), which have saved extra bases countless times.
- Wilson Ramos is 3 for 5.
- Starting pitching has been spectacular, just a 2.60 ERA (5 ER in 17.1 IP) with a 0.981 WHIP (13 H + 4 BB in 17.1 IP).
- Nats have been very aggressive on the basepaths, often going from 1st to 3rd on singles = The Bo Porter Effect.
- Sean Burnett is has still yet to allow a run in 2011.
- Tyler Clippard has stranded all 4 inherited runners.
- Riggleman managed his butt off on Saturday, putting on a suicide squeeze in the perfect situation (which Ankiel and Zimmerman pulled off to a T). His "smart ball" system is "working" for him, as the Nats have 4 sacrifice hits/flys in 3 games.

The Bad:
- Ian Desmond is 0 for 13 on the season, with 3 strikeouts. 8 of those 13 have come leading off an inning, all of his strikeouts are in those situations.
- The Nats, as a team, are just 3 for 26 with Runners in Scoring Position (RISP), knocking in just 6.
- Adam LaRoche is 1 for 7 with RISP.
- Pitchers throwing first pitch strikes is nice, but twice so far they have been tattooed into the stands.
- Pudge is now 0 for 6 with a GIDP.
- Brian Broderick with his memorable first career MLB appearance...
- Chad Gaudin with 3 ER in just 0.2 IP.
- Doug Slaten = highly ineffective. 3 appearances, just 0.1 IP - 2 BB, 2 H. Thursday - walked only batter faced. Saturday - gave up a double to only batter faced. Sunday - faced 3 batters; BB, RBI single, groundout.

What's Next:
Tuesday - Marquis vs. Sanchez
Wednesday - Hernandez vs. Volstad
Thursday - Lannan vs. Johnson

What, if anything, did you take from our first 3 games of the season? Tell us in the comments.

Grading the Nats Potential Bullpen Pitchers

There is a staggering number of players on the Nationals laundry list of potential relievers in 2011. Lots of them are on the 40-man roster, too. So, how many possible relievers do the Nats have now that could be with the big club on Opening Day? Let's see how many truly viable options the team has that will improve on it's already solid bullpen by grading them. Report card style.

Collin Balester - B. Collin showed significant improvement over the course of the 2010 season, he can still throw hard, and he has an awesome mustache. High likelihood that he makes the roster.

Sean Burnett - A. Barring an injury, there's no chance that Burnett will be left off the Opening Day roster after his breakout 2010 season. Hopefully he can be a bit more stable against lefties, as he is technically a "lefty specialist."

Adam Carr - D. Carr was drafted in 2006 and now, at 26 years old, really has to prove something if he's going to make it with the Nats, and he's pretty low on the depth chart right now. There's little to no chance he makes the bullpen on Day One this year.

Tyler Clippard - A. Tyler Clippard has established himself as a critical part of the Nationals rotation and is a guarantee to make the 'pen to start the year.

Todd Coffey - B. It feels like Coffey has been around forever, though he's just 30 years old. He's only hit an ERA of below 4.00 in 2 of his 6 years in the league, and more often than not it's approached 5.00, but sadly, I'd say it's pretty likely that he'll make the team.

Ross Detwiler - C+. Oh, Rossy D. Who know's what you're good for anymore? I'm hoping that he can stay healthy and figure out his approach, but it appears to be more and more likely that it won't happen. If he ends up on the team, and that's a big IF, it will probably be in the rotation rather than the bullpen.

Cole Kimball - F. Kimball's competition is way too deep for someone who has never played above AA ball. He's got no shot.

Cla Meredith - C+. Rizzo went and got this former Major Leaguer who has had some success in the league, so just on his MLB experience, I think there's a (slightly) better than average chance Meredith makes the team.

Garrett Mock - D. Once the front office gets over the fact that Mock has "stuff", it won't be long before they realize he's 27 years old and has shown them nothing. I don't think Mock is in the long-term plans for the organization any longer.

Elvin Ramirez - C. It's a use him or lose him situation for Ramirez in Washington. If he's not put on the Nats 25-man roster in April, he's on his way back to the Mets. He throws hard, but is known to have control issues.

Henry Rodriguez - B. Rodriguez posted a 4.55 ERA in 29 games with Oakland last season, but Rodriguez is still young (23), and this young pitcher acquired in the Josh Willingham trade could still have a future with the organization.

Atahualpa Severino - F. His name is awesome, his talent keeps falling down the depth chart as the Nats make more moves. Sorry Atahualpa.

Doug Slaten - B+. They just signed Slaten to avoid arbitration for 2011. They wouldn't have done that if he wasn't a lock for the 'pen this year, so he definitely makes it.

Craig Stammen - B-. If Stammen makes the rotation, it's clearly as a long reliever to replace the hole that Miguel Batista (Mr. Iowa) has left in the bullpen. As infuriating that Batista could be, he was a passable long reliever. I'm not sure Stammen qualifies as passable yet, but I'm pretty sure we'll find out this year.

Drew Storen - B+. The "Closer of the Future" for another year or two, when he'll become the "Closer of the Present" or be traded. I hope its the former.... The only reason Storen wouldn't start the season in the Majors is because he has options left on his contract. Still, he'll probably make the bigs and share the closer's role with Burnett and Clippard.

Soriano, Why Not?

The Nationals brass has made quite a splash this offseason over-paying for both Werth and LaRoche, filling the lineup with defense and pop. Defense is great and it will without a doubt make life much easier for our pitchers, but more needs to be done. As many have reported over and over this offseason, we need pitching, both starters and relievers. Which brings me to this question.

Although we have gone for seemingly every single free agent available in the past 3 months we have not talked about Rafael Soriano. Should the Nats be pursuing the former All Star?

Lets take a quick look at his 2010 numbers with the Rays.

64 Games. 56 Games Finished. 62.1 IP. 1.73 ERA. 45 Saves. 57 K. 0.802 WHIP. .212 BABIP.

Wow, he was the definition of dominant last year while with the Rays, even though he had to play the Red Sox and Yankees 18 times each. And that's not even the scary thing. Those insane WHIP and ERA numbers are not career highs, those came in 2003 where he put up a 0.792 and 1.52 respectively. The potential is there for greatness and he has been a model of consistency over the past 6 years, never posting an ERA above 3.00 or a WHIP above 1.150.

There are many who will say that the Nats will be content to fill the closer role from within; Burnett, Storen, Balester, or even Henry Rodriguez. But each of those players have issues that could seriously hamper their ability to finish games.

- Burnett has, until last year, been used extensively as a LOOGY and doesn't have 9th inning experience.
- Storen will be a 2nd year player who blew 2 of 7 save opportunities last year.
- Although Balester has great stuff and the best mustache in baseball, he has struggled severely with control in the past (See: Weekes and Reynolds).
- Henry Rodriguez can hit 100 on the radar gun, but he suffers from Rick Vaughn syndrome; he has no idea where its going.

Looking at the options out there, no contender has the need or willingness to pay top dollar for a lights-out closer like Soriano. The Red Sox have Papelbon, Yankees have Rivera, Rangers have Feliz, Giants have (Fear the Beard) Wilson, Twins have Nathan and Capps, and the Phillies have Lidge. There has been talk of the Yankees giving him a longer deal and keeping him around for the Post-Rivera-Era but I find that a last-resort. Which leaves the Nationals.

I think that a contract around 3 years/$21-24 million could get a deal done, solidifying the back end of the Bullpen and making our team that much better. In terms of extra cost to the team, Soriano is a Type-A Free Agent, which means he would normally cost a team a 1st round draft pick if they signed him (since he accepted arbitration). The Nats however were in the bottom 18 teams in the league which means that their 1st round pick is protected, and the 2nd round pick went to the Phillies with the Werth signing, so the Nats would only be losing a 3rd round pick for Soriano. Not such a loss at all.

One of the beautiful things about the way Rizzo runs things is that sometimes you never know when something is in the works until it happens (See: Werth). He might have already made an offer to Soriano's agent. Yep, you guessed it. Scott Boras.

I'm not saying that this signing is imminent or even close, all I am saying is that I think this should be something that the front office should seriously consider if they really intend on improving the bullpen.

Thoughts? Discuss in the comments.