Nats bring in 'pen help, signing Lucas Sims to 1-year deal

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- The Nationals added bullpen depth on Wednesday with the one-year Major League signing of right-hander Lucas Sims.

Sims, 30, is entering his ninth season. He pitched last year with the Reds and Red Sox, going 1-6 with a 4.38 ERA in 58 appearances across 49 1/3 innings.

For his career (Atlanta 2017-18, Cincinnati 2018-24, Boston ‘24), Sims has a 22-19 record, a 4.50 ERA, a 6.9 home run rate, a 4.7 walk rate and a 10.4 strikeout rate in 306 frames.

“It’s a division I’m familiar with, coming up with Atlanta,” Sims said. “I love the city of Washington, D.C. There’s a lot of good opportunity here. And there’s some familiar faces. I’m just excited to get to work and play baseball.”

The Nationals believe Sims can be a contributor in the back end of the bullpen. In innings seven through nine, he has a career ERA of 4.30 and an opponents’ batting average of .196.

“His fastball’s up in the mid-to-upper 90s, his slider’s really, really effective,” said manager Dave Martinez. “We’ve got to get him in the zone. The biggest key is the walks. But we feel like we can help him and he can do that. He’s not afraid, I can tell you that right now.”

Sims worked out in Arizona this offseason. He focused on health, strength and athleticism, staying ready for when a deal came together.

Sims also simplified his approach. He hopes that will translate to a balance of maintaining his strikeout rate while lowering his walks.

“Another point of emphasis in the offseason was, just try to throw as many strikes as you can, just fill up the zone,” Sims said. “Basically, have the attitude of, ‘They’re either going to hit it or not.’

“The big thing coming out of the bullpen is availability. You can pitch a lot more when you’re throwing efficient innings. It helps bounce back, and overall, I think you post better numbers. I would say that was a point of emphasis, having a mentality of, let’s just fill up the zone and see what happens.”

Sims arrived at the Nationals' clubhouse on the second day of full-squad workouts. With his travels around baseball, he fit right in. Former Reds teammate Derek Law pulled up a seat next to Sims’ locker, which is situated between MacKenzie Gore and former Braves teammate Michael Soroka. Also during his time in Cincinnati, Sims played with pitching strategist Sean Doolittle, and Double-A Harrisburg manager Delino DeShields was a first-base/baserunning coach.

“It just kind of worked out,” Sims said. “It’s a fun, young team. A couple of familiar faces; I’m learning a lot of new faces as well. But overall, just very excited to be here and to get this season going.”

To clear space on the 40-man roster, the Nationals transferred right-hander Mason Thompson to the 60-day injured list while he recovers from Tommy John surgery.