Nationals bullpen nearing an ugly record. Having a 'goldfish' memory helps.

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Nationals bullpen nearing an ugly record. Having a 'goldfish' memory helps.

Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY · USA TODAY Sports

Thu, Sep 3, 2026 ·

7 min read

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WASHINGTON – Sometime soon, the Washington Nationals bullpen will tie, and almost certainly break a record it wants no part of.

Nationals relievers have blown 35 saves, second in major league history to the 37 suffered by the 2024 Chicago White Sox . You might remember those Sox: They were, according to the loss column, the worst team in major league history , dropping a record 121 games as the roster suffered a complete breakdown.

Yet these Nationals are not a bad team.

They wildly exceeded expectations thanks to a vastly improved offense, were above .500 as late as July 29 and made the decision much harder for first-year president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to part with prized players come the August trade deadline.

Toboni ultimately sold, but not before perhaps the most teachable moment of his first season served to ruin many late innings and lead to more than a few restless nights for he and rookie manager Blake Butera:

You can only skimp so much on relief pitchers.

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"The value of having homegrown relievers coming through the farm that you don't have to spend huge dollars on necessarily but can lean on is really important," Toboni said this week.

"But the opposite is true, too: If you don't feel like you're in that spot at any given point in time, you have to consider throwing free agent dollars at pitchers."

That, the Nationals did not do.

Five of the seven relievers on their opening-day roster had one year or less of service time and six of the seven made between the major league minimum $780,000 and $825,000, according to salary data obtained by USA TODAY Sports.

Their most experienced arm, lefty Cionel Perez , posted an 8.31 ERA for Baltimore a year ago, made the club on a $1.9 million deal and was designated for assignment by May 4.

But the Nationals' relief torment was just beginning.

The Athletics Lawrence Butler is tagged out by Chicago White Sox third baseman Miguel Vargas as he tires to extend his double into a triple during the eighth inning at Sutter Health Park on April 18, 2026.
(Scott Marshall, Imagn Images)

Cleveland Guardians mascot Slider interacts with fans during game against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field on April 17, 2026.
(David Richard, Imagn Images)

Washington Nationals right fielder Daylen Lile attempts to catch a ball hit for a single by the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jake Mangum during the first inning at PNC Park on April 16, 2026. The Nationals won the game, 8-7.
(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)

Milwaukee Brewers catcher Gary Sanchez wears a special chest protector to commemorate Jackie Robinson Day during the game against the Toronto Blue Jays at American Family Field on April 15, 2026.

(Benny Sieu, Imagn Images)

April 13: The Pittsburgh Pirates' Spencer Horwitz celebrates a home run in the dugout while wearing a welder's hood during the 16-5 win over the Washington Nationals at PNC Park.
(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)

April 12: Philadelphia Phillies mascot, The Phanatic, entertains fans with local team mascots for a birthday celebration before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park.
(Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)

April 11: The Tampa Bay Rays' Jonathan Aranda (left) celebrates with Ryan Vilade after hitting a walk-off single against the New York Yankees in the 10th inning of a 5-4 win at Tropicana Field.
(Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images)

The Cleveland Guardians' Jose Ramirez acknowledges the fans after becoming the team's all-time leader in games played against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on April 6, 2026.
(David Dermer, Imagn Images)

A rainbow appears during the fourth inning during the game between the San Diego Padres and Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on April 6, 2026.
(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)

A fan dresses as the Pope claps during the first inning of the game between the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays at Rate Field on April 5, 2026. The White Sox won the game, 3-0, to complete a three-game sweep of the Blue Jays.
(Matt Marton, Imagn Images)

The Pittsburgh Pirates' Konnor Griffin celebrates with a traffic cone after making his major-league debut in a 5-4 defeat of the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park on April 3, 2026.

(Charles LeClaire, Imagn Images)

A young Red Sox fan meets Tessie the Boston Red Sox mascot before the Red Sox's home opener against the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park on April 3, 2026.
(Eric Canha, Imagn Images)

Cleveland Guardians players warm up as the launch of NASA's Artemis II is shown on the center-field video board at Dodger Stadium on April 1, 2026.

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Miami Marlins shortstop Otto Lopez (6) and center fielder Jakob Marsee celebrate a victory against the Chicago White Sox at loanDepot Park on April 1, 2026.
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Fans try to catch a solo home run hit by the San Francisco Giants' Matt Chapman as San Diego Padres left fielder Nick Castellanos looks on during the third inning at Petco Park on March 31, 2026.
(Denis Poroy, Imagn Images)

Philadelphia Phillies mascot The Phillie Phanatic entertains fans during the game against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park on March 31, 2026.
(Kyle Ross, Imagn Images)

The Toronto Blue Jays' Kazuma Okamoto gets doused with ice water by teammates after a win over the Athletics at Rogers Centre on March 29, 2026.
(John E. Sokolowski, Imagn Images)

The Cincinnati Reds' Eugenio Suárez blows a bubble as he waits to bat against the Boston Red Sox at Great American Ball Park on March 28, 2026.
(Aaron Doster, Imagn Images)

The St. Louis Cardinals' JJ Wetherholt is doused with water by teammates after hitting a walk-off two-run single against the Tampa Bay Rays during the 10th inning at Busch Stadium on March 28, 2026.
(Jeff Curry, Imagn Images)

Fans react as the Milwaukee Brewers' Jake Bauers homers against the Chicago White Sox at American Family Field on March 26, 2026.
(Jovanny Hernandez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Two F-35C planes from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron NINE Detachment Edwards Air Force Base perform a flyover before the Opening Day game between the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on March 26, 2026.

(Kirby Lee, Imagn Images)

Opening acts, closing nightmares

A bullpen disaster is often a top-down problem. After all, relievers incur no damage on nights they sit, feet up, in the bullpen while a starting pitcher mows down the opponent for the greater part of the evening.

Yet those nights are rare.

Nationals starting pitchers rank 29th in the major leagues in innings pitched, 53 behind their nearest divisional rival, the Mets . The uneven workload was exacerbated by the presence of veteran right-handers Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell , who often needed to work behind a reliever opening the game and weren't very good once they did take the ball.

Both pitchers were designated for assignment in August, Mikolas toting a 5.82 ERA, Littell 5.21.

A shaky rotation foundation tends to have a downstream effect. The Nationals have utilized an opener roughly 30 times this season, which takes away resources from middle- and late-inning relief help.

Injuries have not helped: Four members of the opening-day bullpen – PJ Poulin (left flexor strain), Richard Lovelady (left triceps strain), Mitchell Parker and Ken Waldichuk (Tommy John surgery) – are on the 60-day injured list. Two more are on the minor league IL.

Plugging so many holes can lead to floods.

Such as the 10 runs they yielded in the final two innings to the San Francisco Giants , capped by a Bryce Eldridge walk-off grand slam against Parker. Or the six-run ninth inning Sunday, Aug. 31 in which Max Kranick and Tom Cosgrove combined for three walks, a hit batter and a two-run homer to turn a 2-0 gem into a 6-2 loss.

That was blown save No. 35, the black mark technically going on Cosgrove's record; he was designated for assignment Thursday. Yet there's only so much to fault the players – they are trying, very hard – as well as Butera, who pushes buttons furiously from the dugout for a club both shorthanded in arms yet with a lineup that for most of the season slugged sufficiently to keep things close and create ample high-leverage situations.

Clayton Beeter has saved 12 games but blown six other save opportunities in this, his first full major league season.

It's a lot for a unit to take on, particularly one lacking experience and a true bell cow. Riding the emotional roller coaster can take its toll.

"Just try to be a little more neutral," says right-hander Clayton Beeter , whose 12 saves lead the club yet has also absorbed the most blown saves – six – on the staff. "As a unit and a staff, we get high when things are going good and switch up when things go bad pretty quickly, in a lot of different ways.

"I try to talk to everybody and make them feel comfortable. I don't try to tell anyone how to pitch or do what they do. I just know when I was young and coming up, it was nice to have people talk to me just like I was a normal dude and just give me a little comfortability of being in a new place in the big leagues."

Trial by fire

When Beeter debuted with the New York Yankees in 2024, Luke Weaver was that dude for him. A great guy, he says of the current Pirates closer, who helped him a lot.

And there's no shortage of paying it forward among the Nationals' revolving door of relievers. In addition to Beeter, Nationals relievers say Orlando Ribalta , their 6-7, 28-year-old right-hander, has been key to spreading knowledge and advice.

And starting pitchers Jake Irvin and Cade Cavalli – the latter still going through his first full season due to injuries – are also sounding boards.

That more or less epitomizes the Nationals staff: Not terribly young but also inexperienced, relying on each other to avoid bumping around in the dark.

"We do have a younger staff. And I think that's a good thing because we're going through the same situations with each other," says lefty Erik Tolman, 27, who made his major league debut Aug. 22 and has posted five scoreless outings since. "We get to talk to each other about how we feel, collaborate and come to a conclusion on what can get you a little bit readier for the next day.

"And we have a couple older guys on the team, always around to give advice. And when we're not even asking they'll come up to us and help us out."

Tolman has certainly provided late-season inspiration for a club that's gone 12-22 since July 29. He has survived a pair of Tommy John surgeries in addition to a freak injury suffered simply hopping over the baseline on his way to the mound at low Class A in 2023, tearing knee ligaments and his hamstring and rupturing his peroneal nerve.

"I think that's why baseball relates to life so much," he says. "In life, you fail so much. And this game is all about failure. And if you think positive and have positive thoughts, it goes a long way."

1 /10

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

No. 10. T-Mobile Park, Seattle: This ballpark fits perfectly in the Northwest with the nearby mountains, skyline and water. It features an “umbrella-style" retractable roof that doesn’t enclose the park, only stopping the rain, while enabling fans to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.

(Joe Nicholson, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 9. Camden Yards, Baltimore: Meet the godfather, with its famous B&O Warehouse. This is the original retro-classic ballpark that not only dramatically influenced the look of new stadiums, but changed the fabric of some major cities. Denver, Cleveland, San Francisco and San Diego followed its lead and built downtown ballparks that completely invigorated growth.

(James A. Pittman, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 8. Coors Field, Denver: The team may stink but the ballpark is so beautiful and the vibe is so cool that it’s become a destination on its own. There’s a purple row of seats signifying the mile-high altitude, and the bullpen could be mistaken for a forest with its trees and running stream. The right-field upper-deck is the hottest bar in Denver.
(Isaiah J. Downing, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 7. Dodgers Stadium, Los Angeles: This is the most serene setting in baseball, nestled into the hillside of Chavez Ravine. It has a view of the San Gabriel Mountains beyond the outfield, and downtown Los Angeles behind home plate. It’s hard to believe it was built in 1962 and even though it holds 56,000 fans, it still feels intimate.
(William Navarro, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 6. Oracle Park, San Francisco: This ballpark has the second-best view in baseball behind PNC Park with its bay backdrop and splash-down hits in McCovey Cove, but only if you happen to sit in the upper deck. The park is already showing its age and its concourses are narrow and cramped, making it difficult to move around, with the Giants already out-growing the place and badly needing more space.
(Scott Marshall, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 5. Petco Park, San Diego: This gorgeous park doesn’t quite have the stunning views as Pittsburgh or San Francisco, but it’s pretty darn close. The architecture is beautiful and the old Western Metal Company warehouse in left-field gives it a retro look. It also happens to be located in the heart of the lively Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego.
(Orlando Ramirez, USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con)

No. 4. Target Field, Minneapolis: This may be the most impressive urban design in baseball on its downtown eight-acre site with freeways and trains outside the park, and warehouses to the left. It also has an ultra-modern look inside, with a 360-degree open concourse, that celebrates the club's glorious history. Its nod to the retro look is the iconic neon Minnie and Paul home-run sign featuring two ballplayers shaking hands over the Mississippi River representing the Twin Cities.
(Jeffrey Becker, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No 3. PNC Park, Pittsburgh: The most gorgeous ballpark in America. Forget the game on the field. You want to be sitting in the upper deck taking in the view of the Clemente Bridge, the Pittsburgh skyline and the Allegheny River. It’s magnificent.
(Charles LeClaire, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 2. Wrigley Field, Chicago: There’s not a more beautiful sight than walking into the ballpark and taking your first look at that beautiful green grass, the ivy on the walls and the iconic scoreboard in center field. Taking in a Friday afternoon game, hitting Murphy Bleachers afterward, and enjoying the Chicago nightlife is utopia for any baseball fan.

(Patrick Gorski, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

No. 1 Fenway Park, Boston: No ballpark in America has the romantic feel or the unique quirks of Fenway Park, from the Green Monster to Pesky's Pole. It’s not a baseball game, but a religious experience watching games at Fenway.

(Eric Canha, IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)

Just keep swimming

Indeed, the bedraggled bullpen has been injected with late life from lefties Tolman, Will Dion and Jared Simpson, who all debuted this season; Dion came over from Cleveland in an August trade for All-Star lefty Foster Griffin .

Simpson made his major league debut Tuesday by inheriting a first-and-second, no-out fifth-inning situation against Atlanta .

Not exactly a break-him-in-gently situation. Yet Simpson induced a double play grounder from All-Star Drake Baldwin and a groundout from Austin Riley to preserve a 5-2 lead.

Simpson just kept going, pitching three perfect innings to earn the win in his debut. The Nationals intend to do the same, even if an ignominious record is attached to their bullpen.

"Honestly, try to worry about myself and perform to the way I know I can and in turn, that will help the team," says Beeter of the September string to be played out. "Just try to simplify a lot of things."

Or, as Tolman, a major leaguer for two weeks yet with a veteran perspective, puts it: "You hear it - in this game, you gotta have a goldfish mind. Just forget about the bad right away, and then you just gotta move on.

"It goes a long way."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nationals bullpen nearing an ugly record. Having a 'goldfish' memory helps.

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Nationals bullpen nearing an ugly record. Having a 'goldfish' memory helps.

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Opening acts, closing nightmares

Trial by fire

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Visit the 10 best MLB stadiums, ranked by baseball insider

Just keep swimming