Vance Worley Joins Nationals' Pitching Staff

The Nationals certainly picked up an interesting arm in Vance Worley, whom they signed for $1 million (plus up to $1.65 million in incentives). He has experience starting and relieving, and while he's had his ups and downs as a starter, he's been pretty decent as a reliever. As such, he'll likely wind up in the Nationals' bullpen, but if there are enough injuries in the rotation, Worley could be a Plan C there. He could also be called on for spot starts. In summary, he'll essentially be what Yusmeiro Petit was last year. This does not solve Washington's issues at the back of the bullpen, but at least it's a step in the right direction. Worley was a starter from 2011-2014, but has split time between the rotation and the bullpen in 2015 and 2016. In his first go-around as a swingman, in 2015, he was much better as a reliever. Over eight starts, he was 2-4 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP, but his ERA and WHIP dropped to 2.83 and 1.08, respectively, in his fifteen relief appearances. Such was the case again in 2016, when he was 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP over his four starts, but 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in his 28 relief appearances. Overall, he was 2-2 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, which isn't all that bad pitching for the Orioles, who play in a hitters' park and a hitters' division. He's just 29, so an age-related drop off shouldn't be an issue, but his seven years of experience will certainly come in handy. For his career, the Sacramento native out of Long Beach State is 33-30 with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP over 139 games (85 starts) for the Phillies, Twins, Pirates, and Orioles. His best season came in 2014, when he was 8-4 with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP over 18 games (17 starts) for the Pirates.