Washington Nationals: Ranking the Top 4 Candidates for the Closer's Role

Ever since Drew Storen needed to receive elbow surgery to remove bone fragments from his pitching arm, the closer situation in Washington has been in a state of flux.

Many in the organization were afraid that the tenderness he felt in his elbow could lead to Tommy John surgery, but those fears have since subsided.

The original plan was to have Storen back sometime in June, but it seems like he may now be on track for a late-May return.

Should that be the case, manager Davey Johnson has a much easier job in picking a temporary replacement for the next week or so.

If he's not back until sometime in June, Johnson better think long and hard about his new closer.

4. Henry Rodriguez

Henry Rodriguez has been as inconsistent as they come since taking over for Storen in the closer's role.

After yet another poor performance on Monday night—0.1 innings and one run—Johnson has made it known that he will consider other options for the ninth inning.

On the season, Rodriguez has nine saves in 12 opportunities and sports a 4.50 ERA in 18 innings of work.

The right-hander and his 100 mph fastball have shown some promise, though, as opponents are only hitting .153 against him.

He may get a few opportunities with three-run leads to save some games, but don't expect him to be pitching in tight ballgames any time soon.

3. Sean Burnett

Sean Burnett got the save on Monday night after coming in to relieve Rodriguez.

Burnett ranks in the lower-half of this list because of his usefulness as a lefty reliever or setup man.

Ever since joining the organization in 2009, he has been one of the most consistent relievers in the bullpen.

He's continued his success this season, posting an ERA of 0.71 with two saves and 15 strikeouts in 12.2 innings.

Burnett is more of a control, finesse-type pitcher, so his stuff doesn't necessarily translate well into the closer's role.

His pinpoint control and excellent changeup make him more useful in other roles.

2. Craig Stammen

Craig Stammen has nearly everything you like to see in a late-inning reliever—1.44 ERA, 0.920 WHIP, 0.4 HR/9, 9.7 SO/9 and 5.40 SO/BB ratio.

That being said, this is just his second season as a reliever (his first full season when you consider that he only pitched in seven games all of last season).

That's really the only thing that scares me away from giving Stammen the bulk of the opportunities, as his statistics suggest that he'd otherwise be a strong closer.

For the time being, I like the idea of using Stammen as the setup man for...

1. Tyler Clippard

...Tyler Clippard.

Clippard was arguably the most dynamic setup man in the National League last season, posting a 1.83 ERA through 72 appearances (88.1 innings).

He hasn't been quite as dominant this season—3.32 ERA through 19 innings—but that can likely be attributed to the fact that he is pressing to hold leads that Storen would be able to shut down.

With him in control as the closer, there's plenty of reason to believe that he'd improve.

He may have just one career save that came back in 2010, but his past dominance suggests that he'd be a great replacement for Storen until he's ready to return.