Another Washington Nationals Closer…

It’s a pretty good sign that your team is not doing so well if they have gone through three closers just 55 games into the season. Such is life for the last place Washington Nationals, as yesterday they named former Royals and White Sox pitcher, Mike MacDougal as their new closer.

First it was Joel Hanrahan, then it was Joe Beimel, then it was back to Hanrahan and now it is Mike MacDougal. This is the same MacDougal that was released by the White Sox at the end of April because he had an ERA of 12.46 and walked seven batters in 4.1 IP.

And this is the same MacDougal who is 32 years old and hasn’t closed games since 2005 with the Royals. These are real desperate times for the Nationals.

MacDougal peaked in 2003 when he had 27 saves and was an All Star with the Kansas City Royals. Unfortunately, that was six years ago and MacDougal offers little value to fantasy owners in 2009. Even if you needed cheap saves, I still wouldn’t pick up MacDougal.

My guess is that MacDougal’s time as closer will be short lived and the Nationals will go back to Hanrahan or Beimel at some point. That is a fantasy owners nightmare—rotating closers.

Stay away from MacDougal for now. If you want cheap saves, try David Aardsma (nine saves, 1.91 ERA) or Andrew Bailey (three saves, 2.03 ERA).