Koda Glover

As Blake Treinen struggled to begin 2017, Glover took over and locked down two saves before suffering a left hip impingement in late April. He came back from the disabled list and worked his way into save opportunities again, wrapping up six successful calls before returning to the DL in June. Back and shoulder issues would ultimately prevent him from returning. The right-hander chose to rehab his rotator cuff instead of undergoing surgery, and he hopes to return during spring training. The 6-foot-5 hurler, who turns 25 in April, walked just 1.9 batters per nine and allowed only 0.47 HR/9, but his 7.9 K/9 comes up somewhat short for a late-inning arm. Though he has plenty of attractive attributes when healthy (high-90s velocity, 10.7 swinging-strike percentage last year), he'll start 2018 several spots back in the queue for Nationals save opportunities, with a suddenly stacked setup corps building a bridge to Sean Doolittle.

Glover, an eighth-round pick in 2015, raced through the Nationals' system last season on the strength of a fastball that touches 98 mph and a slider he sharpened considerably from his college days. His ERA isn't reflective of his work, as he faded a bit down the stretch and it was later revealed that he was shut down in September due to a torn labrum in his hip. The Nationals still see him as an important long-term bullpen piece and he should be healthy for the start of the season. With Mark Melancon signing with the Giants in free agency and the Nationals failing to sign Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen, Glover could find himself competing for a key role at the back of the bullpen this spring.