Nationals bring back veteran reliever Tyler Clippard

Tyler Clippard has returned to the Nationals organization, as The Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga reported that the Nats had a locker waiting for the veteran right-hander.

Clippard first pitched for Washington from 2008-14, a stint that solidified Clippard as a solid and sometimes elite bullpen arm. The righty posted a 2.68 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate, and 9.8% walk rate over his 464 previous innings in a Nats uniform, twice making the NL All-Star team and operating as either a workhorse setup man or (in 2012) as a closer. The two sides parted ways in January 2015, when the Nationals traded Clippard to the A’s for Yunel Escobar.

That swap kicked off a nomadic stretch for Clippard, as he saw action with nine different teams from 2015-21. Despite the lack of stability, Clippard was still posting effective numbers, with a 3.47 ERA, 25.9% strikeout rate, and 9.0% walk rate in 376 1/3 frames in those seven seasons. There was a bit of a bump in home run rate (8.2% with Washington and 10.0% elsewhere), which isn’t a huge surprise given Clippard’s extreme fly-ball tendencies.

Never a high-velocity arm even in his prime years, Clippard has relied on soft contact and an excellent changeup as the keys to his success. Clippard’s strikeout totals have declined over the last four years, however, and his fastball averaged only 88.9 mph over 25 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2021.

Clippard got a late start last season, as a shoulder injury kept him from any big league action until July 21. Arizona declined their side of a $3.5M mutual option for the 2022 season, thus sending Clippard into free agency entering his age-37 campaign.

Between the additions of Steve Cishek, Sean Doolittle, and now Clippard, the Nationals have bolstered their young relief corps with plenty of veteran experience. Given the amount of uncertainty in the D.C. bullpen, Clippard probably stands a pretty good chance of breaking camp with the team and even getting a crack at some high-leverage innings. It remains to be seen exactly how the Nats will line up their relievers in late-game situations, or whether or not manager Davey Martinez will go purely situational rather than having a set order for the seventh, eighth, or even ninth innings.