MLB trade rumors: Nationals still pursuing Justin Wilson, other relievers

Even after swinging a big trade with the A’s yesterday, acquiring Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson from the A’s in exchange for Blake Treinen and two minor-leaguers (more on that from MLBDD’s Chris Cotillo here), the Nationals are still looking for bullpen help. MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the team is still in on Tigers lefty Justin Wilson and perhaps other relievers.

The Nationals' Achilles' heel this season has of course been the bullpen, and even after acquiring Doolittle and Madson, the bullpen could use some help. The team has seen strong performances from Enny Romero and Matt Albers, so they in theory now have four trusted relievers. However, there’s no team that wouldn’t want more relief pitching, and acquiring a fifth solid bullpen arm could prove crucial for the Nats.

Wilson has been lights-out all season, with ten saves in place of ousted closer Francisco Rodriguez, along with a 12.7 K/9 and excellent 0.906 WHIP. The southpaw has actually been better against opposite-sided hitting this season, holding righties to a .488 OPS. However, his .680 OPS allowed to lefties is still more than serviceable, making him a tough opponent to anyone who steps in the batter’s box. While Madson saved 30 games last season and Doolittle has closed in the past, they’ve combined for only four saves this season, so perhaps the Nationals would like to acquire somebody who’s been a proven ninth-inning man this season.

Other relievers who could potentially be traded include Orioles Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day; Dodgers Brandon Morrow and Sergio Romo; White Sox David Robertson, Tommy Kahnle and Anthony Swarzak; Red Tony Cingrani; and many more. As always, this is a market highly saturated with relievers, so the team in the nation’s capital has plenty of options to choose from.