The Washington Nationals have spent most of this season fighting their way through pitching uncertainty, but that picture has started to change. Two recent wins have helped steady a club that was in danger of sliding further off course, and the biggest reason for the turnaround has been the arms on the mound.
The bullpen, especially the back end, has started to look far more reliable. Max Kranick did allow a home run, but beyond that blemish the relief group was nearly spotless. For the first time all year, Blake Butera appears to have something close to a stable late-inning setup.
Yovanny Cruz has been a major part of that shift. His stuff has jumped off the page, and Butera said Cruz threw some “ridiculous” sliders.
Those pitches were sitting at 93 MPH and carrying vicious movement. Butera also said Cruz will keep getting more comfortable with his splitter.
That splitter already made an impact last night. Cruz used it to produce back-to-back whiffs and strike out Elly De La Cruz while escaping a jam.
His command can still come and go, but the raw stuff is obvious. When your weakest pitch is a 100 MPH fastball, there is plenty to work with.
Cruz is not the only reliever helping settle things down. Beeter, Ribalta and Tom Cosgrove have also turned in strong work, while Brad Lord and Trevor Williams have delivered quality outings as well.
What was once a glaring weakness has become much less of a problem. It is still too early to label it a strength, but a three- or four-run lead does not feel nearly as shaky anymore.
The rotation has contributed too. Cade Cavalli and Andrew Alvarez both gave the Nationals solid starts over the last two nights, and Alvarez has been especially encouraging in his last two outings.
Earlier in the year, he was prone to nibbling. Lately, he has been attacking the strike zone with purpose.
That change has made Blake Butera happy. In the postgame interview, Butera and Alvarez both talked about how getting too deep into counts has been an issue before. Butera said Alvarez is continuing to build more confidence in his stuff, adding that “A lot of it when you get to the big leagues is believing you can pitch here and have success here”.
Alvarez seems to be buying into that idea. He is trusting his breaking stuff and not trying to work around hitters so much. If he keeps going deeper into games, his value is going to climb.
There may also be more help coming. Spencer Nusbaum reported that prospects Luis Perales and Jackson Kent are likely to join the club sometime soon.
Kent brings a different profile: steady, dependable, and built more like a No. 4 starter, with a strong changeup. His raw stuff is more average, but he offers command and deception.
Perales is the loud one. His fastball regularly reaches triple digits, and he pairs it with a nasty cutter and a splitter that drops off the table. The command and execution are still coming along, though they have been improving.
For much of the season, watching this pitching staff has been a grind. Now it is starting to look a lot more interesting as the stretch run arrives. Looking ahead to 2027, the group already looks better than it did going into 2026, and that does not even include the return of Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana.
By this time next year, the Nationals could be talking about their pitching staff as something close to a strength. Paul Toboni deserves a lot of credit for that. It has taken time, and there have been misses along the way, but the organization may finally be finding the right formula.
There is still plenty that can go wrong, and there are obvious weak spots left to clean up. Even so, the trend is heading in the right direction. If that holds, the Nationals have a real chance to finish this season on a better note.
In Other News...
Andrew Alvarez Has Nationals Fans Thinking About A Bigger September
Andrew Alvarez gave the Nationals another reason to feel good on Saturday, turning in a strong outing against the Reds Chase Burns as Washington wrapped up a series win and moved into position for a sweep on Sunday. It fit the broader shape of this season too, with the Nationals leading MLB in runs scored and carrying a positive run differential, a sign that the offense has been doing enough to keep the club in the conversation even as the roster stayed unchanged heading into the weekend.
For a team still sorting out its bigger picture, the performance only sharpened the sense that September could hold more than just routine evaluation games. The Nationals did not make any roster moves on Saturday, which keeps the focus on what is already in house, and Alvarezs showing added to the list of reasons fans are watching this stretch a little more closely than they might have a month ago. [Read more 🡒]
DJ Herz Gives Nationals A Late Season Pitching Reason For Hope
DJ Herz is back on the mound and back in the Nationals late-season conversation after being cleared to resume his rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg. The left-hander, who has been working his way back from Tommy John surgery, had been shut down for a stretch because of a left flexor strain, making his latest appearance an encouraging step for a club still trying to piece together its pitching future.
In his first game back, Herz worked one inning for Fredericksburg and struck out three batters, a brief but useful reminder of why Washington has remained interested in his recovery. Manager Blake Butera said the organization will handle Herz carefully from here, with the expectation that he could return before the end of the season if the next steps go as planned. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Bullpen Gets A Deadline Test Fans Will Want To See
The Nationals are trying to shore up a bullpen that has needed help, and the latest move brings in a familiar arm with major league experience. Washington added right-hander Jake Bird to the roster after acquiring him from the New York Yankees in a trade, a move that gives the club another option as it looks to steady things on the back end.
Bird has struggled recently, so this is hardly a clean plug-and-play addition, but the Nationals are betting there is still enough here to matter. To make room, the club sent left-hander Carson Palmquist to Triple-A Rochester, leaving Bird with an immediate opportunity to show he can give Washington a lift when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]