Yusmeiro Petit to Nationals: Latest Contract Details, Comments and Reaction

Bullpen pitcher Yusmeiro Petit burned the Washington Nationals in the postseason in 2014. Now, he will reportedly join them in 2016.

According to Joel Sherman of the New York Post, the Nationals agreed to a one-year contract with the right-handed pitcher on Wednesday, pending a physical. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca confirmed that Washington was “nearing” a deal with Petit.     

Petit pitched the last four seasons with the San Francisco Giants and posted a 3.67 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 59 strikeouts in 76 innings in 2015. He only made one start last year, but he does have some experience in that role with 57 starts throughout his MLB tenure.

He finished with an ERA under 4.00 in each of the last four campaigns after he struggled as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Florida (now Miami) Marlins early in his career.

Sherman noted the Nationals “wanted to upgrade” their bullpen, and Petit will in all likelihood serve as a significant piece in their relief core. However, he provides Washington with some flexibility in case it needs a spot starter because of injury or someone to eat significant innings in a game when the initial pitcher struggles.

Petit is a familiar face to Nationals fans, considering he pitched six innings of one-hit baseball during the Giants' 18-inning Game 2 victory over Washington in the 2014 divisional series. Jesse Spector of Sporting News reflected on that performance in light of Wednesday’s news:

Petit also set a major league record in 2014, when he retired 46 straight batters with the Giants.

He now joins a Washington team that finished a solid 10th in the league in bullpen ERA last season. Still, Jayson Stark of ESPN.com reported earlier in the offseason that the Nationals were interested in potentially trading Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen.

Even if the Nationals only traded one of those back-end pitchers, the bullpen would look vastly different in 2016. Adding a veteran like Petit with postseason experience will help with any transition period.

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