It seems that the Nationals have finally found bullpen help. Over the last few weeks, the Nationals have been linked to several relief pitchers like Andrew Miller, Aroldis Chapman, David Roberston, and Mark Melancon.
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported on Saturday afternoon that the Nationals had struck a deal with the Pirates that would send Mark Melancon to the Washington Nationals, and the Pirates are getting many prospects in return that include southpaw pitcher Felipe Rivero. According to Jon Heyman, the Pirates are getting Rivero as mentioned before and another prospect named Hearns.
As we were getting closer to the trade deadline, the Nationals were being linked to several pitchers to help the bullpen. Unfortunately, they could not pull the trigger off of any of them. When it came to Aroldis Chapman, the Nationals did not want to part with Michael Taylor. When it came to Andrew Miller, who is still available, the Nationals were giving up someone who the Yankees did not want. As they always say, It is also expected that Jonathan Papelbon will be demoted, since he has been a National he has been nothing but trouble for them and was one of the major reasons they collapsed in the 2nd half of the season to the New York Mets.
I like this trade for the Nationals because it helps them with their bullpen woes and what will be interesting to see and what will probably happen is Jonathan Papelbon will become the setup man to Mark Melancon. Since the Nationals have had problems with Papelbon for his entire time in Washington, I don’t see them keeping him as the closer. So Nationals fans, Do you like the trade? Let us know in the comments below.