It's pretty clear that the 2025 Washington Nationals are not a good baseball team. In what was supposed to be a a season in which they took a step forward, the Nationals have seemingly taken two steps backwards instead.
Most of their starting rotation on paper is sidelined, they traded away their closer, and their most prolific hitter isn't really hitting. And yet, the month of September has been very kind to Washington. They've won seven of their first nine games this month.
How are they doing this?
Unexpected Bullpen Standouts
When Kyle Finnegan was traded to the Detroit Tigers, it seemed to be an acknowledgement that holding onto an experienced late-inning reliever who is relatively reliable isn't really important.