Guthrie turns in finest audition for 'pen yet

WEST PALM BEACH, FLA. -- Jeremy Guthrie had his finest audition for a spot in the Nationals' bullpen as a long reliever in the Nationals' 3-1 loss to the Cardinals on Friday afternoon. He held St. Louis hitless for 4 1/3 innings with two strikeouts and two walks.
Guthrie is one of the pitchers the Nationals are considering for their long reliever in the bullpen, and even though there are fewer than two weeks until Opening Day, a performance such as Friday's can still impress manager Dusty Baker.
"It certainly doesn't hurt," Baker said. "It would hurt a whole lot more if it was a bad day. But being a good day … I mean, our minds aren't made up. So this certainly helps him big time, helps his chances."
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Guthrie, who turns 38 in April, is competing with Vance Worley, Matt Albers and Jacob Turner, who will start Friday's split-squad doubleheader nightcap against the Marlins. Guthrie has a 2.45 ERA in eight games this spring, and he wanted to show the Nats that he still could throw multiple innings and be an effective long reliever.

The question is whether the Nationals will keep a long reliever at all. For the projected seven open bullpen spots, five players are locks -- Shawn Kelley, Blake Treinen, Joe Blanton, Oliver Pérez, Sammy Solis -- Koda Glover seems almost certain to make the team and could begin the year as the closer. That leaves Washington deciding between a potential long reliever, such as Guthrie, or perhaps hard-throwing left-hander Enny Romero, who has been impressive in his own right this spring by routinely throwing fastballs in the upper 90s.
Guthrie is smart and a veteran in baseball. So he has done the math and knows he has some stiff competition for a spot on the roster, but he has still been able to relax through the process despite all the uncertainty.
"Last year for me was a situation where I tried to force a lot of things," said Guthrie, who pitched to a 5.95 ERA over 30 appearances (24 starts) for Kansas City in 2016. "I wanted to make things happen on my end. A lot of things I couldn't control, I tried to control, and it made for a really long season that I didn't particularly enjoy.
"This year ... my commitment to the season was that I would give this one last run because I feel good."