The Washington Nationals’ bullpen has been disappointing this season. Another 2017 disappointment, veteran reliever Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez, was released by the Detroit Tigers on Friday. Could it be a match made in heaven?
According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, the Nationals have expressed interest in acquiring K-Rod’s services, despite the pitcher’s ghastly 7.82 ERA.
While Washington leads the NL East by nine games, the combination of bad outings and untimely injuries has brought the team’s struggling bullpen into the spotlight. And with the trade market for relievers currently sparse, the Nationals have been forced to look for potential solutions among the rest of the league’s castoffs.
Rodriguez has had problems of his own this season, but he is a proven closer with postseason experience. He has the most saves among active pitchers with 437, fourth-most all time, and just last year recorded 44 saves while maintaining a 3.24 ERA.
There’s no guarantee K-Rod can solve what ails the Nationals if he does come to Washington. But as the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures, and this is certainly a desperate time in the Nationals’ bullpen.
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