The Braves have already made one notable bullpen move this week by signing Evan Phillips, but Atlanta may not be done adding late-inning help. Francys Romero reports that the Braves and Tigers remain interested in veteran closer Raisel Iglesias, even after Detroit added Emilio Pagan.
For Atlanta, a reunion would be a familiar play. It would also be the second straight offseason the club has brought Iglesias back, after signing him to a one-year, $16 million deal last winter. There’s plenty of comfort on both sides, and Iglesias has kept pitching at a level that leaves little reason to worry about a drop-off as he heads into his age-37 season.
Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic add that another Iglesias deal could affect how Atlanta handles the rest of its pitching plan. Re-signing him to bolster the bullpen would increase the odds that the Braves lean on Didier Fuentes as a starter next season, though the club still figures to bring in a more established starter even if Fuentes gets stretched out in Spring Training.
The Nationals, meanwhile, are looking at their bullpen through a different lens. Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic writes that Washington’s relief corps was one of the worst in baseball in 2026, but significant bullpen spending may not be coming.
As Nusbaum put it, “relievers who command multiple years and significant money are probably off the table.” That approach fits a rebuilding club, even one that outperformed expectations with 77 wins last year.
Washington does appear more open to upgrading the rotation. Nusbaum said the Nats have “asked around about controllable starting pitching in trade talks, and is casting a wider net than last season.”
The Nationals also made a front-office hire, bringing in John Morris as their new VP of baseball research. Nusbaum reports that Morris will oversee “the baseball side of the Nats analytics department.” He arrives from the Yankees, where he served as assistant director of quantitative analysis.
In Miami, the Marlins have added Trayce Thompson to their baseball operations department, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. The move likely signals the end of Thompson’s playing career. He’s 35, and his pro journey included parts of seven MLB seasons from 2015-23, plus the last three years spent in the minors, the Mexican League, independent ball, and with Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic team.
Thompson appeared for five major league teams, with 217 of his 369 big league games coming in a Dodgers uniform. His best extended offensive stretch came during a second-half run with the 2022 Dodgers, and he’ll close out his MLB career with 45 home runs and a .212/.300/.411 line across 1,058 plate appearances.
In Other News...
Nationals Prospects Just Put More Focus On A Tough Roster Decision
R.J. Sales got the start in a Salt River game that ended with the Javelinas edging the Rafters 6-5 and closing out the season, and he was one of several Nationals prospects to get a look in the finale. Sales worked 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out four, and Kevin Bazzell, Teo Banks and Noah Dean also appeared as Washingtons pipeline kept drawing attention in the desert.
The bigger picture for the Nationals is arriving quickly, with the offseason now in view and the deadline to add players to the 40-man roster getting closer. For a front office that has to weigh development against protection, these late-season performances matter, and the situation is made even trickier by the possibility of an MLB lockout and union decertification hanging over the winter. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Are Betting Their Pitching Fix Starts Far From The Mound
The Nationals are treating their pitching overhaul as more than a simple search for arms. This offseason, the organization has put real emphasis on building up the infrastructure around the staff, adding John Morris as vice president of baseball research and David Besky as pitching strategist while also looking to expand both the analytics and scouting sides of the operation. It is a clear sign the club wants better answers on the mound, but also better processes behind the scenes.
Washington also plans to bring in more pro scouts, a move aimed at sharpening player evaluation and giving the front office more ways to identify pitching help. The hope is that these changes will show up not just in acquisitions, but in how the Nationals develop pitchers and shape the staff for the 2027 season. The work is early, and the payoff is still ahead, but the direction is obvious: the fix is starting well before anyone throws a pitch. [Read more 🡒]
Jarlin Susana Just Gave Nationals Fans A Reason To Believe Again
Jarlin Susanas trip to the 2026 Arizona Fall League was about more than just getting innings. After missing significant time because of injuries, the right-hander was sent there to regain competitive mound time and keep building toward the kind of impact arm the Nationals have been hoping to develop. Instead, he left with a louder statement than anyone could have expected, finishing as the AFL Pitcher of the Year after leading the league in strikeouts and flashing the kind of high-velocity fastball that still turns heads.
For a Washington organization that has spent plenty of time waiting on young pitching to take a step forward, Susanas showing offered a welcome dose of optimism. Assistant general manager Devin Pearson said he was pleased with both the performance and the development Susana showed in the league, and the Nationals will now have a clearer sense of where the right-hander stands after a lost stretch in his career. The bigger question is how much of that momentum carries into his next stage, because the raw material is obvious and the ceiling remains one of the more intriguing ones in the system. [Read more 🡒]