The Nationals’ bullpen is headed for a makeover, and Jack Sinclair may have done enough in 2026 to put himself right in the middle of it.
Washington’s pitching staff is expected to look different by 2027, with president of baseball operations Paul Toboni likely to attack both the rotation and the relief corps after years of shaky results. The bullpen, in particular, has been a problem area, and the club’s late-inning roles appear wide open as the Nationals sort through what comes next.
That creates an opening for internal arms to step forward, and Sinclair made a strong case in the final stretch of the season. The 27-year-old right-hander was not invited to big league spring training, opened the year at Triple-A Rochester, and did not get the call to Washington until Sept. 4.
Once he arrived, he made the most of it.
Sinclair finished with 11 appearances for the Nationals and turned in a 2.45 ERA while collecting five holds and converting his only save chance. In 11 innings, he struck out eight, walked four, and hit three batters. He also showed some serious life on his fastball, which averaged 96.6 mph.
Manager Blake Butera noticed.
“I think that you just get a good feeling when he takes the ball.”
For a Nationals bullpen that blew a record-setting number of saves in 2026, that kind of trust matters. Washington still needs a true closer, and trade deadline pickup Yovanny Cruz looks like a candidate because of his fastball-slider mix, though his command issues could keep him from fully locking down the job. Sinclair probably isn’t in that specific conversation, but he could become an important bridge to whoever handles the ninth.
The results point that way. Sinclair held opposing hitters to a .158 average against and posted a 0.91 WHIP.
He was especially tough on right-handers, limiting them to a .048 batting average. For a pitcher who handled five holds and a save in limited action, that’s the profile of someone who can work the back end of a bullpen.
“He's just the same guy every time, and he's not afraid of the moment," Butera said about Sinclair. "I think that there's a lot to be said for that when you pitch in the back of a bullpen.”
That kind of language says plenty about how the Nationals may view him heading into next season. Sinclair still has to stay healthy, win his spot in winter and spring workouts, and then carry it into Grapefruit League play. But after the way he finished 2026, it looks like Washington is ready to give him a much bigger chance in 2027.
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The early returns were encouraging enough to make Sinclair a name worth tracking as the Nationals sort through their pitching depth. He drew positive remarks from manager Blake Butera and got into leverage spots during his first stint, the kind of usage that can tell a team a lot about whether a young arm is ready for a bigger role down the line. The question now is whether Washington can turn that brief debut into something more meaningful moving forward. [Read more 🡒]