Plan is to add depth to their young rotation Nationals right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg took the mound for the final game of the 2011 season on Wednesday afternoon. But his presence begs an open question about the look of next year’s rotation.
Back from Tommy John surgery and apparently fully healed, Strasburg will anchor Washington’s pitching staff in 2012. But general manager Mike Rizzo admitted Sunday that his 23-year-old ace will be on an innings limit similar to the one right-hander Jordan Zimmermann faced this past season. So all offseason plans begin with adding pitching depth to a much-improved group.
After all, if Strasburg is held to 160 innings — or around the same number Zimmermann tossed in 2011 (1611Ú3) — then you’re looking at about 25 starts. That means right away the Nats must account for the seven or eight starts Strasburg won’t make in 2012 even before the inevitable injury bug hits. So how will they get through?
Five is not enough
Those final two items have to be checked off the to-do list first. But if they are, what becomes of the organization’s younger prospects? Both Tom Milone and Brad Peacock had fine seasons in the minor leagues, and the organization still believes in both. Their performances in the big leagues this September only bolstered that confidence. Add in Ross Detwiler, a former first-round pick who also showed signs of improvement in August and September, and you would have a crowded back end of the rotation. But that’s exactly what the Nats want.
| The Nationals are counting on Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman and John Lannan for their 2012 pitching rotation, and general manager Mike Rizzo said he also wants to re-sign Chien-Ming Wang and go after another veteran starter. |
| No team simply can pencil in a pair of inexperienced prospects and expect them to last the entire season. That’s a pretty good way to end up in last place. In 2011, Washington used the same five pitchers from Opening Day until July 28 save four starts from Yunesky Maya and one from Detwiler during a doubleheader. But within days they had added Chien-Ming Wang, traded Jason Marquis and promoted Detwiler for good. By September, Zimmermann was shut down, while Strasburg, Peacock and Milone were promoted. Even in a good year the Nats needed 11 starters. |
“Our pitching depth is the best that I’ve seen since I’ve been around here [in 2006], since the Lerners have taken over the team [as owners],” Rizzo said earlier this week.
Indeed, Washington’s starters entered the final game of the regular season with a 3.82 ERA. That ranked 12th in the majors and represents a huge leap for a group that just last season was at 4.61 (26th) and sat at 4.97 in both 2008 and 2009. It’s good enough that there might not be room for veteran free agent Livan Hernandez, who started Opening Day on March 31 and posted a 4.47 ERA. But while Hernandez says he wants to return, the Nats might have better options.
Zimmermann likely will have all restrictions removed next season. On Opening Day he will be two years and eight months removed from Tommy John surgery and coming off a season with a 3.18 ERA, 124 strikeouts and just 31 walks. He profiles perfectly as a No. 2 starter. John Lannan may never be a top-of-rotation pitcher. But he didn’t miss a start in 2011, pitched 1842Ú3 innings and had a 3.70 ERA.
Those three are locks provided Rizzo doesn’t use Lannan as trade bait. But Rizzo also said he is making progress in contract talks with right-hander Chien-Ming Wang, who has had a nice showing two years after major shoulder surgery. His velocity isn’t all the way back and may never be. But Wang’s sinker is effective enough in the low 90s. He had a 4.04 ERA in 621Ú3 innings but isn’t the only veteran the Nats will go after.
“We’re looking for a top-of-the-rotation guy to supplement the younger pitchers,” Rizzo said. “That puts everybody down a slot and makes everybody much more comfortable. And as the Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves can attest, you can never have enough good starting pitching. Because this is a grind of a season and when you play a month longer than everybody else into playoff baseball, it takes a lot of starting pitchers to get through the season.”
