Nationals Bolster Bullpen With Joe Blanton

Washington's offseason has been criticized for not bringing in a proven relief ace, but they did make some progress with the addition of Joe Blanton on a one year, $4 million deal. Other offseason additions to the bullpen, including Vance Worley, Matt Albers, Tim Collins, Joe Nathan, Enny Romero, Mike Broadway, and Dustin Antolin, have helped with depth but, aside from Worley and possibly Albers, none is likely to make a big impact. Blanton, however, will. After a dreadful 2013 (2-14, 6.04 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) and sitting out all but two AAA starts in 2014, Blanton's career looked like it was coming to a close. In 2015, he began the transition to relief, where his career found new life: over 36 games (4 starts), he went 7-2 with a 2.84 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP, striking out 79 and walking just 16 over 76 innings. Over 75 relief appearances in 2016, he was even more dominant, putting up a 2.48 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and an 80/26 strikeout to walk ratio in 80 innings. Suddenly, the 6'3" right hander is a weapon out of the bullpen, and the Nationals will be thrilled to use him late in games. For his career, the former Kentucky Wildcat is 99-93 with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP over 376 games (252 starts) since 2004.