Modern baseball is far different from the days when a starter might pitch both ends of a doubleheader. Wilbur Wood of the Chicago White Sox famously started both games of a doubleheader against the New York Yankees on July 20…
Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni is focusing on rebuilding the team's bullpen this offseason after poor relief pitching contributed to missing the postseason. Toboni stated that his strategy will not necessarily target established, high-leverage closers, emphasizing instead internal development and analytic adjustments for pitchers currently at inflection points in their careers.
Nats.Talk argues that Washington should emulate the Tampa Bay Rays' transformation of Bryan Baker, who became an All-Star closer through pitch retooling. The Nationals bullpen posted a 4.99 ERA in 2026 and utilized 16 different pitchers for saves under a committee system.
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