For Craig Stammen, the move was more or less an ultimatum.
A 12th-round pick out of Dayton in 2005, Stammen moved through the Washington Nationals’ minor league system as a starting pitcher. He joined the big league team in 2009 as a starting pitcher. But midway through the 2010 season, his production dropped off, and his role changed.
“I either had to pitch good, or I wasn’t going to be in the big leagues,” Stammen said.
Over the next several years, Stammen became a staple of the Nationals’ bullpen, developing into an incredibly valuable and versatile long reliever. On Thursday, the team announced that he suffered a musculotendinous injury in his right forearm that will require surgery, potentially ending his season. But he remains a model for Washington’s other starters-turned-relievers, a group that includes Tanner Roark, Blake Treinen and, as of Thursday, Felipe Rivero.
Moving from starter to reliever has become common practice in baseball, but that doesn’t mean it is a simple transition. The job is the same, but the switch requires a pitcher to retrain how he prepares, both mentally and physically. The success of Washington’s bullpen this season may depend in part upon how their newcomers, specifically Roark and Treinen, make that transition.
“Most relievers have been starters. That’s just the way it all happens. That’s the way they train guys,” Nationals manager Matt Williams said this week. “Coming out of the bullpen, we want those guys to go after the hitters and make sure that they’re throwing strikes early and often. So with all of those guys, they all have the ability to do that.”
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Roark’s transition to the bullpen is an ongoing process. He broke into the big leagues in 2013 as a reliever, then moved into a starting role when Ross Ohlendorf went on the disabled list. In 2014, he began the season as a starter and emerged as one of the most consistent pitchers in the National League. He finished 15-10 with a 2.85 ERA, which ranked 12th among NL starters.
Despite that tremendous success, the arrival of Max Scherzer this winter pushed Roark back into the bullpen. Though he had prior experience in a relief role, he said he is still growing accustomed to some aspects of the job. Instead of having five days to gradually build up to a start, for example, he now stretches in the bullpen, throws two soft pitches and immediately ramps up to full speed. He has to be ready at a moment’s notice, but also flexible depending on what’s required.
“You’ve got to get hot fast out there, and then cool it down if you need to cool it down, if it’s a long inning,” he explained. “As a starter, you can take your time to get warm and then build up. So, it’s the reverse. That’s what I’m learning. It’s a process.”
Roark has also said there are differences in the mentalities that come with each role. As a starter, he had several at-bats to settle in and get a feel for his pitches. In a relief role, he needs to be able to throw a first-pitch breaking ball and be confident in his ability to locate it.
For Treinen, the mental preparation is more or less the same, even though the situation is drastically different. The 26-year-old has had two consecutive rough outings in high-leverage situations, allowing two key runs in the eighth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and committing two errors in a loss to the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday.
Treinen said he enjoys pitching in those situations. The greatest challenge, in his mind, is being able to physically prepare your body to pitch in a matter of minutes, as he was asked to do Tuesday.
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“I’ve done the bullpen in the past in minor leagues and I’ve had guys kind of explain to me the process of getting loose, so that’s been I guess the biggest challenge,” Treinen said. “Obviously later in games, you have more pressure situations. I think it’s fun, knowing that you’re pitching some meaningful innings.”
Both Treinen and Roark have shown an increased velocity out of the bullpen, which is not atypical for the switch. Roark said he generally adds a few miles per hour to his fastball, while Treinen has become well known for his sinking fastballs, which first baseman Ryan Zimmerman described as “98-mph bowling balls.”
Treinen said he has looked to Stammen as he has grown into his new role.
“He’s a good guy to pick his brain,” Treinen said. “He knows if it’s a long inning, how to slow himself down to be fresh to go out. And if it’s quick, how to get himself ready quick. So, his approach to the bullpen role is something that I know I’ve tried to mimic, as well as other guys in our bullpen.”
There is a definite chance that Stammen will not pitch again this season, but his loss, even for a few weeks, is significant. While sidelined, he will be limited to giving advice from afar, trying to help those who will fill his role and try to follow his path.
• Tom Schad can be reached at tschad@washingtontimes.com.
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