Nats bring in 'pen help, signing Lucas Sims to 1-year deal
Jessica Camerato
@jessicacameratoWEST 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.