Entering 2026, the Washington Nationals bullpen is fraught with uncertainty. The unit had the worst bullpen ERA in all of baseball last year, with a mark of 5.59. Instead of adding to the unit, Paul Toboni has made the group even worse on paper so far this season by trading presumably closer Jose A. Ferrer to the Mariners.
There will likely be at least one free agent added to the bullpen this season. However, most of the top free agent relievers are no longer on the market. Toboni’s lack of urgency in attacking the free agent market tells me he has some confidence in the internal options available to him.
With that in mind, I’m going to take a look at five pitchers that Toboni will likely be intrigued by. Most of these guys didn’t put up great numbers last year, but have some intriguing traits. They all have good stuff, but need to make some command improvements or tweak their pitch mixes.
The first pitcher I want to discuss is a guy that most fans probably don’t have much hope for at this point. That would be Jackson Rutledge. The 2019 first-round pick ended up spending a full season in the MLB, but the results weren’t pretty. He posted an ugly 5.77 ERA in 63 appearances. The underlying figures were not much better either.
However, Rutledge has some pitching adjustments he could make that could really help him. He didn’t throw enough of his best pitches last season. The results and the stuff models agree that Rutledge’s two best pitches are his slider and splitter. He threw the slider only 25.8% of the time and he threw the splitter only 9.4% of the time.
Honestly, the slider should be the pitch Rutledge throws most often as a reliever. Batters hit just .194 against the field with a 39.7% whiff rate. The homerun-prone Rutledge also didn’t allow a single long ball on the slider. It should be his primary pitch against righties and one he throws against lefties more than 11% of the time.
Last season, so was Rutledge firm against righties thanks to the slider, but lefties hit .363 against him. Increasing his splitter usage would be one way to solve his lefty issues. He threw the splitter 20% of the time against lefties with solid results. Meanwhile, he threw a cutter to lefties who absolutely got it illuminated 18% of the time. He may never be a star, but these usage adjustments could help Rutledge become a solid piece in the bullpen.
Another Nats reliever who should use a slider as a primary pitch is Clayton Beeter. He actually showed a lot for the Nats. After being traded by the Yankees, he became posted an ERA of 2.49 with 32 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Right now he is the favorite to become the Nats closer.
He already throws his slider a lot, using it 46% of the time. But I think he could use it more. Beeter is a two-pitch guy, using the slider 46% of the time and a fastball 54% of the time. I think he should reverse those two numbers and use the slider as his primary pitch.
It became great resultswith a batting average of .098 against and a whiff rate of 49.1% despite the heavy use. The field also jumps on stuff models with a 126 items+ judgement. Beeter’s lack of strike-throw could make this strategy more difficult. Pitchers tend to throw more fastballs when they are behind in the count.
Beeter’s slider command is arguably better than his fastball command. Confidence on the pitch in any situation could be the next step in his development. Beeter is not so much a breakout candidate because he has already broken out a bit. I think there are still some steps he could take to show that the production was real.
The next breakout candidate is a guy I thought would establish himself in 2025, but he didn’t. I had high hopes for Orlando Ribalta entering 2025, but he was terrible, posting a 7.03 ERA in 22 games. An injury cost him a few months, but even when he was on the field the results were not there.
I wasn’t the only Ribalta believer going into 2025, and the stuff is still impressive. Perhaps 2026 will be the year we see the best of the 6’7 reliever. He has some really impressive pitches and looks good.
Ribalta hits a 4-sieve, a sinker, a slider and a changeup. All four pitches show promise, but the results are inconsistent. The 4-seam fastball averages 96.4 MPH and has very good carry. It was his best pitch in 2025, with batters hitting .192 against it.
His slider scores well on models, but was lightened in 2025. Hitters had an insane .806 slugging percentage against the pitch. I think Ribalta’s best secondary pitch is his Bugs Bunny changeup. He generated scents more than 40% of the time with the change. Ribalta also likes to throw it to right- and left-handers.
He finishes the arsenal with a sinker that generates a lot of weak contact. Ribalta had huge problems with walks and home runs, but the tools are there. Hopefully Toboni and the development team can help Ribalta solve some of these problems.
The only reliever the Nats have added to the group is Griff McGarry, who they selected in the Rule 5 Draft from the Phillies. McGarry was a starter last year and posted a 3.44 ERA with a ton of strikeouts in 83.1 minor league innings.
However, a lack of command will push McGarry into a bullpen role. The Nats will be incentivized to keep McGarry on the roster because they would have to send him back to the Phillies if they demote him. He has the stuff to thrive in the MLB, but leadership is a question.
The raw stuff is world class. His 121 stuff+ rating was one of the best marks in the minor leagues. At his best, his fastball/slider combination is electric. His arm slot is difficult to pick up and he is a scent machine.
Toboni has a simple task with McGarry. Find a way to get him in the zone enough. Free runs will always be a part of his game, but he must keep them under control. It is similar to Beeter’s situation. Even if he walks 12% of batters, which is bad for most guys, he’ll be fine because of his stuff.
This is a fun Rule 5 bet to make. There’s a chance he could be brought back to the Phillies very soon. However, there’s also a chance he becomes a key part of the bullpen because of his swing and miss stuff.
The last guy I want to talk about is Cole Henry. After an injury-riddled road, he was finally healthy in 2025 and established himself as a solid reliever. He faded a bit and finished the season with a ERA more than 4, but he showed a lot of flashes.
Henry has a low finish and a big extension that helps deceive hitters. His fastball has a lot of life and is by far his best pitch. Batters hit .191 against the pitch and smoked his heater almost 30% of the time. That scent number is insane for a fastball, especially one at 94.4 MPH.
For Henry, the next step in his development will be improving his command and secondary fields. His curveball is decent, but I think Toboni can help him find another breaking ball shape. A sweeper would make sense given his slot. Henry’s curve has a sweeping motion anyway. Stuff models also love the curve.
There is a chance that Henry will be the closer next season. He still has health questions, but the supplies are there. Henry also seems like a fun template for smart pitchers to work with. He has many unique qualities, which is always positive.
This bullpen is very short on proven commodities, but there are some interesting names to develop. None of these guys know for sure, but I expect a few of them to make big moves in 2026. Paul Toboni is certainly betting on that, because on paper he’s made the worst bullpen in baseball even worse. However, I think these guys can make the bullpen much better next season.
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