• The Braves have placed Max Fried on the DL with a left groin strain, the club announced. It’s a notable loss for a pennant-chasing Atlanta club, as Fried’s been excellent in four starts (nine total appearances) so far this season. Despite walking a whopping 16 batters in just 26 2/3 innings, Fried’s managed to post a tidy 3.38 ERA thanks in part to 34 strikeouts and a 50.8% ground ball rate. He’s benefitted from an 80.5% strand rate, but his whopping 23.1% HR/FB rate suggests a bit of bad luck in that department. Fried’s injury suggest that Atlanta will likely return to a traditional five-man rotation for the time being, utilizing Julio Teheran, Mike Foltynewicz, Sean Newcomb, Anibal Sanchez and the newly-acquired Kevin Gausman.
• Simultaneously, the Braves have lost a valuable righty reliever to the DL in the form of Shane Carle (shoulder inflammation). Carle’s been fantastic out of the bullpen this season, posting a 2.53 ERA across 53 1/3 innings. The righty’s been used for four or more outs a whopping 14 times in 2018, so the club will surely miss his ability to eat late innings for the time being. In the absence of Fried and Carle, the Braves have recalled lefty Adam McCreery and righty Wes Parsons from Triple-A Gwinett.
• The Brewers have unsurprisingly added righty reliever Matt Albers to their disabled list, owing to a left hamstring issue. It’s been clear that something isn’t right with the 35-year-old veteran, as he’s allowed a cataclysmic 18 earned runs across his past eight appearances spanning 5 1/3 innings dating back to the start of June. In the season’s first two months, though, Albers had allowed just three earned runs across 25 innings; the club will hope to get him right in time for him to make an impact out of their ’pen down the stretch. Recently-acquired right-hander Jordan Lyles will take Albers’ place on the active roster for the time being.

JULY 28: The Brewers have designated infielder Brad Miller, per a team announcement. The move was made to make room for the newly-acquired Mike Moustakas on the active roster. At the same time, the club reinstated right-handed reliever Matt Albers from the 10-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Keon Broxton to Triple-A.

Milwaukee acquired the 28-year-old Miller earlier this season in a one-for-one swap with the Rays, to whom they sent first baseman Ji-Man Choi in exchange. That hasn’t worked out quite as they’d hoped, as Miller’s been worse in 80 plate appearances in Milwaukee than he was in Tampa Bay this season. Since coming over, he’s hit just .230/.288/.378 with an eye-popping 38.8% strikeout rate. That’s incredibly concerning considering his abnormally high .366 BABIP.

Miller’s amassed 2,505 plate appearances during his MLB career, mostly with the Mariners and Rays. All told, he owns a .239/.313/.409 batting line with 75 career home runs. Miller came up through Seattle’s system after being selected early in the second round of the 2011 draft. He put up excellent power and contact numbers throughout his minor-league career while putting up a walk rate of at least 11% at every level from Class A-Advanced up. Those gaudy totals never translated to the majors, though, and while he was a useful player at times, the organizations he was a part of were surely disappointed to never see him reach his full potential.

More injury updates from around the majors:

• The Rockies announced that they’ve placed reliever Bryan Shaw on the 10-day disabled list with a right calf strain and recalled righty Yency Almonte from Triple-A Albuquerque. The DL placement continues a season to forget for Shaw, who’s in the first of a three-year, $27MM deal. Shaw has disappointed with his new club thus far, having recorded a 7.57 ERA with career-worst walk and home run rates (5.05 BB/9, 2.02 HR/9) over 35 2/3 innings.
• Athletics third baseman Matt Chapman, on the 10-day DL since June 15, won’t come back when first eligible, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Chapman landed on the shelf with a right thumb injury, though team doctors now believe the problem area is just above his wrist, according to Slusser. He may need a cortisone shot as a result, and might not return until the A’s next homestand (June 29 to July 4). Meanwhile, the A’s are set to activate reliever Ryan Buchter from the 10-day DL on Monday, Slusser adds. The offseason trade acquisition has been dealing with a left shoulder strain and hasn’t pitched for the A’s since April 25.
• The Brewers will likely go without reliever Matt Albers until after the All-Star break, manager Craig Counsell told Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reporters Sunday. Albers is “going in the right direction,” though, Counsell noted. The 35-year-old has been out for just under two weeks with right shoulder soreness. Albers, whom the Brewers signed to a two-year, $5MM guarantee over the winter, has pitched to a 3.53 ERA with 7.85 K/9, 2.2 BB/9 and a 45.7 percent groundball rate in 28 2/3 innings.
• The Pirates have sent reliever Michael Feliz to the 10-day DL with right shoulder inflammation and recalled righty Clay Holmes from Triple-A Indianapolis, the team announced. The hard-throwing Feliz has endured a rough season in his first year with the Pirates, who acquired him from Astros as part of the teams’ Gerrit Cole trade over the winter. Feliz ranks second among Pirates relievers in innings pitched (32 2/3) and has struck out 10.74 hitters per nine, but a high walk rate (4.41 BB/9) and a low grounder percentage (30.7) have helped lead to a 5.51 ERA.

More chatter from the East Coast…

• While some in the Nationals front office saw signs of sustainability within Matt Albers’ performance for the club last season, others weren’t convinced of his likelihood to repeat that performance for the entirety of a two-year contract (Twitter link from Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post). Since Albers sought (and ultimately found) a two-year agreement, Washington decided to hedge its bets elsewhere. The 35-year-old right-hander enjoyed an excellent 2017 season, pitching to a 1.62 ERA with 9.30 K/9 against 2.51 BB/9, but the risk in signing him to a multi-year deal probably lies in a .203 BABIP that seems likely to regress somewhat. On the other hand, he was one of the best relievers in baseball at inducing soft contact and preventing hard contact, so that’s at least a point in favor of low BABIP sustainability.
• Orioles reliever Zach Britton said that he’s “feeling really good” during a conference call at the O’s Fanfest (via Paul Folkemer of baltimorebaseball.com). The lefty recently had his second of three follow-ups with his doctor after rupturing his Achilles tendon during a December workout. “He was really happy with where I’m at,” Britton said. “Maybe a little ahead of schedule. Not skipping any steps, but just picking up the pace on things that I’m doing now. More walking, getting comfortable in a tennis shoe again, and things like that.” The soon-to-be free agent will reportedly be at spring training with the Orioles in Sarasota, Florida, though he won’t be at “full go.” An early return for their closer would be a huge boost to Baltimore whether they’re contenders or not. He’d dramatically improve the club’s chances to make the playoffs if he can replicate anything close to his 2015-2016 form down the stretch, but if the O’s are out of it before the trade deadline he could very well net a solid prospect return.

11:50am: The Brewers and free agent righty Matt Albers have reached an agreement on a two-year deal, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (Twitter link). Albers, a client of SSG Baseball, will be guaranteed $5MM on the contract and can earn another $1MM each year based on total appearances, according to Sportsnet’s Ben Nicholson-Smith (Twitter link). The deal is pending a physical.

Albers, who turned 35 last week, was the most consistent member of the Nationals’ bullpen in 2017, pitching to a pristine 1.62 ERA with 9.3 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 0.89 HR/9 and a 51 percent ground-ball rate through 61 innings of work. It represented a terrific bounce-back campaign for Albers, who’d limped to a 6.31 ERA in 51 1/3 innings with the White Sox in 2016.

There are, it should be noted, some indications that Albers had his share of good fortune in 2017, as well, though. His 8.7 percent swinging-strike rate was below the league average and not what one would expect from a pitcher that whiffed better than a batter per inning — a feat he’d achieved in only one season prior to 2017 (with the Red Sox way back in 2011). Albers also benefited from a minuscule .203 BABIP, though while that mark is in for some regression, the extent of said regression may not be as great as one might think at first glance.

Albers posted a hefty 15.9 percent infield-fly rate in 2017, and his batted-ball profile was among the most encouraging of any reliever in the game. Albers allowed a measly 22.8 percent hard-hit rate against him, which was the third-lowest mark in MLB among qualified relievers. He also induced 30.9 soft-contact rate, which was good for the fourth-best in the bigs.

Since establishing himself as a regular big league reliever back in 2009, Albers has been a rather durable asset, appearing in 55+ games in seven of those nine seasons. He was limited to 37 1/3 innings in 2015, though that year was truncated by a broken finger rather than any sort of arm injury. Shoulder trouble kept him out of action for all but 10 innings of the 2014 season, but that’s been the only instance of a notable arm injury keeping him on the shelf for a prolonged period in nearly a decade’s time.

[Related: Updated Milwaukee Brewers depth chart]

Albers won’t factor into the closing mix in Milwaukee, where Corey Knebel is fresh off a breakout season in which he stepped into the spotlight as one of the game’s top strikeout artists. However, the veteran Albers will join lefty Boone Logan as a newly signed addition to manager Craig Counsell’s relief corps, where he’ll pair with Jacob Barnes, Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader to help bridge the gap from the team’s rotation to Knebel at the end of the game.

It’s been an aggressive week for Milwaukee, of course, as GM David Stearns and his staff have also signed Lorenzo Cain and pulled off a blockbuster to acquire Christian Yelich within the past four days alone. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio gave signals over the weekend, too, that the Brew Crew still has the payroll capacity to add a top starting pitcher if Stearns & Co. feel the right deal presents itself.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

8:17am: Free agent reliever Matt Albers is expected to sign next week, tweets ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. He’s expected to receive a two-year deal.

Albers has a wide variety of suitors given his recent performance with the Nationals. As Crasnick notes (and as MLBTR mentioned here), Albers had a 1.62 ERA in Washington this past season. While his .203 BABIP might seem to suggest that luck had something to do with it, it’s worth noting that the righty had the fourth-highest soft contact rate (30.9%) among MLB relievers with at least 50 innings pitched; those batted balls obviously go for outs a high percentage of the time. His 22.2% hard contact rate was also the third-best among bullpen arms, which paints a picture of a rare and valuable skill set. Albers posted some attractive peripheral stats too, including a 27% strikeout rate that was more than double his 2016 figure with the White Sox. He also managed a respectable 51% ground ball rate; success in that area long been his signature success as a major-leaguer.

Any team would likely benefit from adding Albers to their bullpen. A two-year contract, however, would mean that some team is placing a lot of faith in a player who has been inconsistent throughout the course of his career. Prior to 2017 Albers had a career 4.34 ERA to go with a 6.23 ERA K/9 and 3.80 BB/9. Perhaps some teams have found a reason to believe that his newfound success is sustainable over the long term.

The Astros originally selected Albers in the 23rd round of the 2001 draft. He made his major league debut with Houston in 2007, and pitched for the Orioles, Indians, Red Sox, Diamondbacks and White Sox before finding his way to the Nationals on a minor league deal this past March.

Some other items from across the NL East…

• Mark Bowman of MLB.com writes that the Braves could seek short-term rotation help this offseason in order to “satisfy their desire to add experience to their inexperienced rotation.” While there might be a desire in the future to “strike a big deal for a legit ace,” Anthopoulos hints that he’d like to take some of the workload off their younger arms. Bowman mentions Wade Miley as one example of a pitcher who could be had on a one-year contract.
• While the Mets have been linked to Jay Bruce, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports (via Twitter) that the club doesn’t appear to be “warm” on any player in the outfield or first base market. Rather, they seem to be focused on second base as their top priority. One notable Mets target at that position already came off the market when the Angels acquired Ian Kinsler from the Tigers. The second base market does have other options, and the Mets have been linked to of Jason Kipnis of the Indians recently.
• Though it’s not clear what position Nationals outfielder Victor Robles will play in 2018, GM Mike Rizzo says he’ll be an everyday player (via Pete Kerzel of MASNsports.com). Rizzo further specifies that if there isn’t a spot for him in the Majors, the Nats’ top prospect will begin the season at Triple-A. It would seem as though the latter is the most likely scenario, considering Washington has Bryce Harper, Adam Eaton and Michael A. Taylor ticketed for the outfield grass. On the other hand, perhaps Taylor could end up in a part-time role.
• Before the Nationals agreed to terms with Brandon Kintzler on a two-year contract, the team was exploring the possibility of bringing back Matt Albers on a two-year deal, according to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post (Twitter link). Ultimately, nothing ended up coming together. Albers was fantastic for Washington last season; the righty posted a sterling 1.62 ERA and 0.85 WHIP. He struck out 9.30 batters per nine innings against just 2.51 walks.

A bit more from the division…

• With both Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle under team control next season, the Nationals are less inclined to pursue top-tier free agent relievers, Janes writes in a second piece. Rizzo expressed confidence in that duo and offered a generally encouraging review of his relief corps overall, health permitting. Injury concerns are present, though, as Janes notes; both Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley were heavily limited by arm troubles in 2017. As such Rizzo indicated that it’s possible his team will pursue some right-handed bullpen help this offseason. Janes runs down several options that Nats fans will want to check out, and she also notes that Matt Albers may ultimately end up elsewhere as he cashes in on a career year.
• Mets GM Sandy Alderson strongly downplayed the notion of signing an outfielder upon leaving the GM Meetings, tweets Mike Puma of the New York Post. Alderson indicated that a player that can handle some outfield as well as first base, or even just a pure first baseman are considerations, however. As Newsday’s Marc Carig tweets, that effectively points to regular center field work for Juan Lagares in 2018. Per Carig, the Mets have received trade interest in Lagares in the past and shown little inclination to move him. Of note, Carig also tweets that the Mets consider Jay Bruce versatile enough to handle both the outfield and first base, so a reunion remains on the table.
• Michael Conforto’s agents tell Joel Sherman of the New York Post that their client has received “excellent” medical updates from the surgeons that performed his shoulder operation thus far in his recovery. The young Mets oufielder is expected to be swinging a bat by late January and should be ready for Spring Training, as things presently stand.
• Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel spoke to Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill about the team’s need for rotation help. Adding starting pitching is reportedly a priority for the Fish even as they look to pare down payroll by roughly $50MM and market several of their biggest stars, including Giancarlo Stanton, in trades. Of course, as Hill alluded to, the composition of the returns on their trades could well help to satisfy that priority. “We know we need to get better,” Hill said of his team’s starting pitching options.“Some of the trades may dictate what that looks like, what shape or form that looks like.” Hill also indicated that the Marlins could look at smaller trades and waiver claims as a means of adding additional options.

But the tumult also brings opportunity. Relievers who are throwing well at the right moment can find themselves right back in the majors. And there are often wide-open Spring Training battles to be joined and won.

Plenty of relievers signed minor-league deals last winter. And a solid number of them ended up on MLB rosters within the first two months of the season. Despite failing to receive MLB guarantees on the free-agent market, these ten hurlers have provided quite a bit of value in the early going:

Matt Albers, Nationals: With the Nats’ pen struggling badly, Albers has been a desperately need source of reliable frames: 16 2/3 innings of 1.62 ERA ball. A strong 57.8% groundball rate and meager 1.6 BB/9 walk rate tend to support the results, though Albers isn’t getting enough whiffs (7.6 K/9) to keep up quite this level of pitching.

Craig Breslow, Twins: The lefty specialist has been everything the Minnesota front office hoped for when it bought into his new-look delivery over the winter. Like Albers, a minimal BABIP (.217 in this case) helps explain the sub-2.00 ERA, though in both cases the solid early work is enough to entrench these pitchers in their respective pens for the time being.

Jorge De La Rosa, Diamondbacks: A long-time starter, De La Rosa has averaged less than one inning per relief appearance in Arizona. But the results of that change in focus have been quite promising. It’s good enough that De La Rosa carries a 50% groundball rate with 8.8 K/9 and 3.5 BB/9, supporting a 2.35 ERA through 15 1/3 frames. But there could be more in the tank, as he’s also averaging a career-high 94.1 mph with his fastball and generating a huge 19.5% swinging-strike rate.

David Hernandez, Angels: Though he has completed just 11 innings thus far, after making his debut later than most of the names on this list, Hernandez has impressed. He’s showing the same kind of velocity and swinging-strike rates that made him a buy-low option last year for the Phillies, but the real question is whether he can continue to avoid the long balls that have plagued him in recent years.

J.J. Hoover, Diamondbacks: It was anyone’s guess whether the former Reds’ late-inning stalwart would rebound, but he’s showing well through fifteen frames in Arizona. Hoover is walking more than five batters per nine, but has also racked up 12.6 K/9 (on a career-high 12.6% swinging-strike rate) and owns a 3.00 ERA. So far, a new pitch mix (more two-seamers and sliders) seems to be working.

Jason Motte, Braves: After beating out Hernandez to become the next veteran reclamation project in Atlanta, Motte has ascended to the majors and helped stabilize the pen. His peripherals aren’t terribly inspiring — 6.4 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 53.1% groundball rate — but the results (1.59 ERA) have been there through 11 1/3 innings.

Bud Norris, Angels: The crown jewel of the Halos’ impressive slate of finds, Norris has thrived in the closer’s role that he took over out of necessity. Through 23 2/3 innings, he carries a 2.66 ERA with 11.8 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, and a 44.2% groundball rate. Norris is bringing more velocity (94.1 mph fastball) and swinging strikes (13.2%) than ever before.

Yusmeiro Petit, Angels: The veteran long man has been stellar, delivering 28 1/3 staff-preserving innings of 2.54 ERA ball through 16 appearances. Petit is carrying 9.5 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9 on the year. (As if the trio of arms on this list weren’t enough, the Halos have also benefited from the strong work of Blake Parker, who had been outrighted off the 40-man roster over the winter.)

Anthony Swarzak, White Sox: There are some very strong performers on this list, but perhaps none has been quite as impressive as Swarzak. He has given the South Siders 19 2/3 breakout innings of 1.37 ERA ball, with 10.1 K/9 and just 0.9 BB/9 in that span. At present, he’s working at a 19.8% swinging-strike rate — about double what he carried over the prior two campaigns — making him quite an interesting potential trade candidate this summer.

Jacob Turner, Nationals: Though he isn’t carrying sparkly numbers, Turner has been an important contributor in D.C. He’s functioning in the swingman role that Petit occupied last year, providing 21 2/3 innings (over two starts and six relief appearances) of 3.74 ERA pitching thus far. While Turner is averaging only 5.8 strikeouts and 3.3 walks per nine, he is continuing to carry the velocity boost he showed last year. Interestingly, he is now working in the zone far more than ever before (50.2% versus 42.1% career average) — though it’s also important to note that his swings and misses are way down (4.8%).

Guthrie signed a minor league deal with the Nats in February and got an opportunity to start yesterday due to something of a rotation crunch (Stephen Strasburg was given an extra day of rest and Joe Ross wasn’t yet eligible to be called back up after being optioned to Triple-A).  Unfortunately for Guthrie and the Nationals, the start was a disastrous one — Guthrie allowed 10 earned runs over just 2/3 of an inning in an eventual 17-3 loss to the Phillies.  Adding insult to injury, yesterday was also Guthrie’s 38th birthday.

The outing was Guthrie’s first MLB appearance since 2015, as the veteran posted a 5.95 ERA over 148 1/3 innings for the Royals and didn’t make the postseason roster for the eventual World Series’ champions.  Guthrie also struggled in 2016 pitching at the Triple-A level for the Padres and Marlins, posting a 7.17 ERA over 86 2/3 IP within the two organizations.  Given Guthrie’s age and lack of recent effectiveness, it seems questionable whether he could catch on with another team, though a move to relief pitching seems necessary for the longtime durable starter.  Guthrie averaged 201 innings per season from 2008-14 with the Royals, Rockies and Orioles, and he owns a career 4.42 ERA over 1765 1/3 innings in parts of 13 big league seasons.

Albers also signed a minor deal with Washington in February, though the Nats released him at the end of Spring Training and re-signed the righty to a new contract.  Both deals were for the same terms — a $1.15MM base salary for making the MLB roster and another $600K available in incentives.  Albers suffered through a rough 2016 season with the White Sox (6.31 ERA in 51 1/3 IP) but the pitch-to-contact specialist posted a 2.32 ERA, 6.1 K/9, 2.02 K/BB rate and a 59.2% ground-ball rate over 170 2/3 IP from 2012-15.

The 34-year-old Albers struggled through one of the worst seasons of his career with the White Sox in 2016, pitching to a dismal 6.31 ERA with 5.3 K/9, 3.3 BB/9 and a 48.6 percent ground-ball rate in 51 1/3 innings. Each of those figures represents a significant step back from the four-year window of success enjoyed by Albers from 2012-15. In that stretch, the former 23rd-rounder logged an excellent 2.32 ERA with 6.1 K/9, 3.0 BB/9 and an outstanding 59.2 percent ground-ball rate.

That run of strong performance could be a ticket back to the Majors for Albers, if he can get off to a strong start in Triple-A Syracuse and convince the Nationals or other clubs that his 2016 season was an aberration. Washington named Blake Treinen its closer earlier today, and he’ll be supported by right-handers Shawn Kelley, Koda Glover and Joe Blanton. From the left side, the Nationals will utilize a trio of Sammy Solis, Oliver Perez and hard-throwing Enny Romero early in the year.

More from the East Coast:

• The Yankees informed right-hander Adam Warren on Tuesday that he’s no longer in the running for the final two spots in their rotation, writes Randy Miller of NJ.com. That’s not particularly surprising, as Warren always seemed like a long shot on account of his vast experience as a reliever. He’ll once again take on a bullpen role this year, while two of Luis Severino, Bryan Mitchell, Chad Green and Jordan Montgomery will fill out the Yankees’ starting five.
• The Marlins will open the season without a left-handed reliever, having optioned Hunter Cervenka to the minors on Tuesday, per Tim Healey of the South Florida Sun Sentinel. They also sent Justin Nicolino down, thus clinching the fifth spot in the rotation for Adam Conley. Although Conley looked like a shoo-in for a starting job at the outset of spring training, his struggles combined with Nicolino’s effectiveness nearly produced an unexpected outcome. “[Optioning Nicolino] was probably our toughest decision. He pitched really well in spring,” manager Don Mattingly said. “I shouldn’t say surprised because we know it’s there, but coming into camp I kind of looked at him as an outside chance, really, and he’s really opened a lot of eyes and a lot of conversation about who that fifth guy should be.”
• It doesn’t appear the left oblique strain Mets outfielder Juan Lagares suffered Saturday is anything serious. Lagares underwent an MRI on Tuesday, and while results aren’t yet known, he told ESPN Deportes’ Marly Rivera that he’s “almost 100 percent” (via Ackert). Of course, if Lagares is OK, he seems likely to start the year as the Mets’ fourth outfielder, which could lead to a demotion to the minors for Michael Conforto.
• The Orioles hope to re-sign outfielder Michael Bourn and infielder Chris Johnson, tweets Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. Baltimore released the pair Monday (Bourn exercised his opt-out clause) after neither cracked its big league roster.
• The Nationals released veteran reliever Matt Albers on Monday, but he could return to the organization on a minors deal if he’s unable to land a major league contract elsewhere, a source told FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).

The 42-year-old Nathan missed much of the past two seasons after having Tommy John surgery, though he fared well (albeit in a very small sample) in 6 1/3 innings with the Cubs and Giants last year. He’s now over three years removed from his last full, strong season in the big leagues — he posted a 1.39 ERA, 10.2 K/9 and 3.1 BB/9 while making the All-Star team for the Rangers in 2013. He has 377 career saves, but he’s not done — he hopes to latch on with another team, as MASN’s Mark Zuckerman tweets. Nathan did post a solid 3.86 ERA with nine strikeouts and three walks in 11 2/3 innings this spring, so teams in need of bullpen help could view him as a possibility.

The 34-year-old Albers is coming off a poor season with the White Sox in which he posted a 6.31 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 over 51 1/3 innings. He was effective in several consecutive seasons with various clubs before that, however, and seems unlikely to have trouble finding a minor-league deal elsewhere should he seek one.

Here are some more arms-related updates from the NL East:

• The division-rival Nationals, meanwhile, are sorting through their own pitching decisions. As Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com writes, skipper Dusty Baker would like to carry a long reliever, though it’s unclear just who’d take that role. Minor-league signee Jeremy Guthrie has shown life with his fastball, and he’s joined in camp by fellow non-roster invitees Vance Worley, Matt Albers, and Jacob Turner as well as former top prospect A.J. Cole. Of course, carrying a multi-inning reliever would mean leaving behind someone else. 42-year-old Joe Nathan might be one of the top alternatives; as Zuckerman further writes, the team seems to be weighing his possible inclusion, having given him nine innings of action. Nathan has allowed just three earned runs, though he has only four strikeouts to go with three walks. Unless the Nats go with an eight-man pen, keeping any of the above-mentioned pitchers would likely mean parting with either veteran Oliver Perez (who’s guaranteed $4MM) or out-of-options newcomer Enny Romero, both of whom are currently projected by Jason Martinez of MLBTR and RosterResource.com to make the active roster.
• Then, there’s the question of the closer spot for the Nationals. As MLB.com’s Jamal Collier tweets, Baker has trotted out Koda Glover for five-straight ninth-inning appearances, perhaps suggesting he’s testing him for the job. The veteran manager says he believes that the 23-year-old Glover has the arsenal needed to close, with the team assessing whether he’s ready to handle that spot at this stage. His top competitor appears to be Blake Treinen, who has been dominant in three spring frames (six strikeouts, no walks or hits). Glover has received a much more substantial showcase thus far, and has also impressed by allowing just one earned run on four hits and a single walk with 11 strikeouts over eight innings.
• For the Marlins, there’s increasing unease with the showing thus far from lefty Adam Conley, as manager Don Mattingly said yesterday. (Video via the Sun-Sentinel.) The long-framed southpaw has struggled to “sync everything up” thus far, says Mattingly, leaving the club with at least a “little bit” of concern at this stage. Noting that the club is still considering the form of its Opening Day rotation, the skipper says that one major concern is Conley’s inefficiency, which has been a problem in the past. Last year, he managed only 133 1/3 innings over 25 starts.

JAN. 31, 10:15pm: Nathan’s contract has a March 24 opt-out date, Heyman further reports (Twitter link)

1:26pm: The Nationals have announced minor-league deals with veteran righties Joe Nathan and Matt Albers. Both will receive invitations to MLB camp. Nathan can earn a $1.25MM salary if he cracks the roster, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (Twitter links), with incentives that could push the value past $3MM. Albers’ contract terms have yet to be reported.

It’s tempting to wonder whether the 42-year-old Nathan might factor into the Nats’ still-open closer’s role, though the lack of a 40-man spot suggests that’s not exactly an expected outcome. He does bring 377 career saves with him to D.C., but missed the vast bulk of the past two seasons after requiring Tommy John surgery early in 2015.

Nathan did, however, return to the big league hill last year, striking out nine and walking four batters without giving up a run over 6 1/3 innings. It was a brief sample, but he generated a healthy 14.4% swinging-strike rate and averaged 91.3 mph on his four-seamer.

Last we saw Nathan over a full season, he scuffled to a 4.81 ERA for the Tigers back in 2014. But he turned in an outstanding campaign just one year prior, when he gave the Rangers 64 2/3 innings of 1.39 ERA pitching with 10.2 K/9 against 3.1 BB/9.

There have been some ups and downs of late for Albers, too. Now 34, he was knocked around last year, posting a 6.31 ERA with 5.3 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 for the White Sox. Before that, however, Albers was quite effective for a rather lengthy stretch; between 2012 and 2015, he spun 170 2/3 frames of 2.32 ERA ball.

Though ERA estimators didn’t quite support those numbers, they did view him as a solid pen arm. Despite a subpar whiff rate, Albers has long generated lots of grounders with his oft-used sinker.

[Related: Updated Nationals’ Depth Chart]

These veteran hurlers figure to compete for spots in the Nationals’ 2017 pen, but Washington’s pen mix is still in some flux. Though Nathan and Albers figure to boost the depth while providing competition, an undeniable need, it remains to be seen what the organization will do about the ninth inning.