Three Nationals takeaways: Pitching woes, roster construction, team philosophy

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This year, even as one of the best offenses in MLB tries to keep them afloat, they have either been done in right before the final bell or right after its first ring. Wednesday’s 6-1 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals marked the seventh straight game in which Washington (4-8) has allowed at least six runs. Three of those games were heartbreakers that saw the bullpen blow leads of four (in the seventh), three (in the eighth) and two (also in the eighth). Two were over early after Miles Mikolas (12.41 ERA) allowed 11 earned runs in one start and Jake Irvin (8.00 ERA) allowed six in another. One other team has an ERA over 6.00. None are higher than Washington’s 6.06. After allowing 78 runs in a dozen games, three questions emerge: Why are other teams teeing off? Why did the organization construct the pitching staff this way? And how is it impacting the clubhouse? When a pitcher loses their rhythm, they are given a handful of cues to fall back on. They are told to attack the zone early. They are told to lean on the fastball as ol’ reliable, because it is the easiest to command. And if they do fall behind, they are told to trust that their best stuff will miss bats and get hitters to chase outside of the zone. Twelve games in, those fall-back options have been anything but. MLB hitters slug .516 on the first two pitches of an at-bat, but slug an MLB-best .736 against the Nats. They slug .415 against fastballs, but slug an MLB-best .598 against the Nats. Washington ranks 24th in Stuff+, 28th in whiff rate and 30th in chase rate. Not helping matters: They have issued 17 walks over their last two games. “We get in trouble and start walking guys, and that comes back to bite us,” reliever Gus Varland (6.75 ERA) said. “If we just attack guys like we know how, and stick to the game plan, we should be all right.” “I think we can all acknowledge the fact that the bullpen hasn’t been what we expected or what we want it to be,” manager Blake Butera said. “With that, we see a lot of our bullpen arms probably trying to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to get us going in the right direction today,’ and maybe trying to do a little bit too much.  “So I think the messaging to our relievers right now is, ‘Go be you. Go pitch. You can’t control what happens. All you can control is attacking hitters, throwing your best stuff at them. Let the rest fall where it may.” The Nationals are here because they have not drafted and developed as many high-octane arms as other MLB teams, nor have they spent freely in free agency. This is why they have embraced new ideas and new technology in the minor leagues, and why they believe that a number of the pitchers on their next postseason roster are scattered among the affiliates.  The best arms in baseball may not have their best stuff every night, but they have the sort of stuff that always allows them to fall back on a certain approach or a certain pitch. This is why you will see the Nationals adapting to new-age ideology in their player development system. It’s why they are embracing velocity and movement.  Because the current staff can not grip it and rip it as others can. Their pitchers — many of whom are pitching in unfamiliar spots in the bullpen — have to dig deeper and search longer to find the right solutions.  The first: On January 30, the Nationals claimed George Soriano off waivers. On February 5, they designated Soriano for assignment to clear space for Ken Waldichuk — and on the 10th, they traded Soriano to the St. Louis Cardinals for Andre Granillo. The second: On April 6, Waldichuk allows three runs, and Granillo replaces him in the eighth; Granillo, against his old team, concedes two more runs and is optioned to Triple-A Rochester later that night. On April 7, Soriano enters in the eighth to face the team that got rid of him, retires six straight batters and lifts the Cardinals to a win. This, believe it or not, is a feature and a bug of the team’s new philosophy.  Transactionally, the Nationals received two relievers with options out of the process — two pitchers who they can move between Rochester and Washington. Washington would rather have two relievers so it has the flexibility and team control to develop rather than one who they would have to designate for assignment if he does not pan out.  This Nationals front office wants to be realistic and wants to win on the margins. The brass made no promises regarding their timeline. They did not invest in bullpen arms — those tend to be volatile — in hopes of developing flamethrowers internally. This process is why they spent on Mikolas and Zack Littell (they offer length and leadership) and why seven of the eight pitchers in their bullpen have an option.  This process is not about whether they win or lose games in early April. It is about giving Granillo the runway to improve his command, and see if that lets his slider truly blossom; about seeing if the rise on Varland’s heater or the break on PJ Poulin’s sweeper can get big leaguers out; and if they don’t earn their spot in the majors, someone else will cycle in. “We’ve seen almost all of our bullpen arms have an opportunity to pitch in leverage,” Butera said. “That’s going to continue. They’re going to keep getting the ball. At the end of the day, someone’s going to step up, and they’re going to carve out their role.” Even if this front office does not define success in 2026 by the wins and losses of its big league club, many in the Nationals clubhouse will. It matters because the players have worked their entire lives to win big-league games. It matters because this is a public job, and their fan base has not seen a season with more than 71 wins since 2019. It matters because, at this level, it must matter. “Whether we’re winning or losing, I don’t think our pitching has been up to where we want it to be,” Butera said. “So it’s hard to say, oh yeah, we’re doing this really well, but we’re losing. We’ve got to get better. We have to throw more strikes.” The clubhouse has been a quiet place after losses. It has been a place for pitching coaches Simon Mathews and Sean Doolittle to walk around and offer encouragement and feedback to their pitchers. They have not yet levied blame anywhere other than themselves. “We’re a team,” starter Cade Cavalli (2.51 ERA) said. “We win together, we lose together. So we feel it. And when guys have to come out earlier than they probably should, it hurts.” “This team is united,” Cionel Pérez (13.50 ERA) said. “I hope things are going to go our way.” “I know all of these guys,” reliever Brad Lord (4.35 ERA) said. “How strong they are. How tough they are. I know it’s just a bump in the road for all of us, and we’ll be right back on the horse.” In short: Even if wins and losses are secondary, the competitive edge is not. They’re going to feel it. It’s going to leave them searching for the right words. Where their manager landed most recently: “It stings.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Spencer Nusbaum is a Staff Writer for The Athletic covering the Washington Nationals. Before joining The Athletic, he spent two years covering the Nationals for The Washington Post. He is a graduate of American University. Follow Spencer on Twitter @spencernusbaum_