Nationals Rethink Reliever Prep | Washington Nationals News

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It's July 8th, Washington Nationals News Today starts now, AI powered and ready for kickoff. The Nationals are rethinking how they prepare their relief pitchers. They brought up Cole Henry from Triple-A, expecting him to handle multiple innings, but he struggled in his second inning of work, giving up four runs. This situation has highlighted a gap in how they're building up their arms in the minors.
Manager Blake Butera admitted he takes responsibility for how Henry was handled. The team hadn't consistently had him throw multiple innings at the minor league level, which is a problem when they need him to do just that in the majors due to a thin bullpen. This isn't the first time this season the Nationals have seen a reliever falter after being called up. Guys like Zak Kent and Paxton Schultz have faced similar issues.
The team is realizing that simply needing fresh arms isn't enough. Those arms need to be ready for the demands of big league relief work.
Moving forward, the organization plans to adjust their approach in Triple-A. They'll ensure pitchers get the workload necessary to be effective when they're called up to the majors. This includes making sure they're accustomed to throwing multiple innings. To address the immediate need, they brought up Matt Krook, a lefty who has a track record of pitching multiple innings in the minors this season. The goal is to avoid situations where pitchers are thrown into the fire unprepared.