Outrageous Nationals bullpen stat gives Royals ideal trade partner for expendable relievers

Not many things have gone the way of the Kansas City Royals this season, especially when it comes to their bullpen. They hold the fourth-highest amount blown saves and have been scrambling for answers since day one seemingly after Carlos Estévez’s blow up in their opening series versus the Atlanta Braves before hitting the injured list. However, as grim as it may seem for the Royals’ relief corps this year, it could certainly be worse – the Washington Nationals have proven that.

This season the Nationals have seen a rise in form from their usual rebuilding state, sitting 43-42 and just a game under .500. But when you consider their bullpen this season, perhaps it could be even better for them. Not only do they hold an NL worst 5.02 ERA as a unit, their 22 blow saves is four more than any other team in the majors.

And as Peter Appel of Just Baseball pointed out last week it’s not as if all their arms have been outright dreadful this season, as five relievers have thrown 20 or more innings this season to the tune of a sub-4.00 ERA.

“They don’t have the worst bullpen ERA in baseball, they’re tied for fourth in saves in with the Brewers,” Appel said. “They are in a save situation pretty much every game.”

“Eleven different pitchers have entered a save situation and blown it, seven of those pitcher have multiple blown saves” he said. “And of those seven pitchers with multiple blown saves, four of them own ERAs under 3.65.”

“They’re not getting shelled every time out, they just can’t solve the ninth inning,” Appel added.

He alluded to the fact earlier in his breakdown that if even half of those blown saves had gone the opposite direction, perhaps we’re looking at a Nationals team that’s competing with the Braves in the NL East.

With a young and thriving offense, a rotation that’s holding it’s own and the fact they’re in the thick of a postseason race as the half-way point of the season nears, the goal for Washington seems as clear as day with the trade deadline just weeks away…they need someone to occupy the ninth.

And perhaps the Royals could be of some assistance.

Royals may have bullpen problems, but pair of relievers could be dangled to Nationals

At first glance, as one of the two teams worst than Washington in bullpen ERA this season, the Royals seem like an odd suggestion as a trade partner to address the Nationals’ ninth inning woes.

However, like any bullpen no matter how much they struggle, one would be hard-pressed to find zero bright spots. For the Royals, there are two names that come to mind as intriguing options for the Nationals; Daniel Lynch IV and Alex Lange.

Lynch may not have closing experience himself this season, but it’s not as if he hasn’t performed to a standard worthy of taking over ninth inning responsibilities in Kansas City. Through 34.0 innings of work, the southpaw is throwing to a 2.65 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and .189 BAA, with a strikeout rate nearly six percent higher than his mark in 2025 and a walk rate below eight percent for the first time since 2023.

With multiple years of team control left perhaps this could be an avenue for the Royals to seek a stronger return and the Nationals to address their closing issues beyond just 2026.

However, if Washington is more in the market for a shorter-term solution, perhaps they could look to the Royals’ current primary closing option in Alex Lange. After a rough start to the season, Lange has found new life, good enough to assume the closer’s role more often than Lucas Erceg.

Since May 10, the 30-year-old has seemed to draw upon his prior closing experience in Detroit to post a respectable 3.72 ERA and convert seven saves in the process – which is leaps and bounds better than the 5.79 ERA effort he showcased prior to that.

Obviously he comes with risks, such as a lack of control with a 5.20 BB/9 this season. However, he’s been a decent source of strikeouts with 9.17 K/9 and the return for him wouldn’t be heavy considering his contract expires at the end of the year. And it’s not as if the Nationals could do much worse at the minute.

At the end of the day, Washington needs to cover the ninth inning and Kansas City appears to be in a place where their focus should be on regrouping ahead of 2027. Why shouldn’t the two go hand-in-hand? After all, it’s not as if either Lynch nor Lange is without some deadline pedigree, given the fact that Jeff Passan over at ESPN ranked them comfortably within his Top 100 trade candidates ahead of Aug. 3 earlier this month.