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Biggest flaws on current MLB playoff teams

MLB pitchers

NL East leader: Washington Nationals

To win in the playoffs, you need a good bullpen. With the off days, it doesn’t need to be an especially deep bullpen. But it’s hard to imagine any team going on a deep October run without at least three or four solid relievers that it can depend on.

The Nationals don’t have that. Their bullpen is bad. And we’re not talking about bad for playoff team standards, either. Washington’s relievers have been just dreadful throughout 2017.

Nats relievers sport a 5.15 ERA, which is the worst mark in all of baseball. A case could be made that that ineptitude is offset at least partially by the fact Washington’s relievers have thrown fewer innings than any in baseball.

It’s true. When you have guys like Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg going deep into games, a deep bullpen isn’t that much of a necessity. A bad bullpen is also less significant when your offense is going as strong as the Nationals bats are going.

But in the playoffs, games get tighter. You’re not facing No. 5 starters anymore, nor are you dealing with mop-up relief pitchers. So, as good as Bryce Harper and company are, Washington can’t rely on its offense to overwhelm in October.

Likewise, opposing offenses will be more likely to get to Scherzer, Strasburg, and the rest of the Nationals starters. If nothing else, Dusty Baker’s hand might be forced into pinch hitting for one of them after only five or six innings. What happens then? Can this bullpen be trusted to carry the load for three-to-four innings or more in a close game?

As presently constructed, it’s hard to imagine. Mike Rizzo has done a good job constructing this team to be a regular season monster. But if he wants a team that can finally win in the playoffs, he’ll need to shop hard for relief pitchers.

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