Poche was in camp this spring as a non-roster invitee and appears to have made Washington’s season-opening bullpen after striking out eight batters over 4 2/3 innings of work. The 31-year-old southpaw has some high-leverage experience, but will presumably operate in middle relief for the Nationals.

It’s surprising to see Poche settle for a minor league deal, but he has a really easy path to making the weak Nationals pen, and perhaps he might even be added to the 40-man as soon as Josiah Gray and Mason Thompson go on the 60-day IL. Poche, 31, has a 3.63 ERA and a 230/78 K/BB in 208 1/3 innings over four big-league seasons, all with the Rays. He dealt with back and elbow problems while posting a 3.86 ERA in 37 1/3 innings last season.

The 30-year-old southpaw actually did a nice job for the Rays in 2024 — posting a 3.86 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 33/13 K/BB ratio over 37 1/3 innings. They must think that they can find someone else to do a similar job at a cheaper price than the $3.4 million that Poche was projected by MLBTradeRumors.com to earn via arbitration. He’s now one of the better left-handed relievers available on the open market.

Poche was placed on the IL at the end of August with elbow inflammation but missed the minimum amount of days. The left-hander will return to a 3.67 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 31:13 K:BB ratio in 34 1/3 innings as a middle reliever in Tampa Bay. Cole Sulser was sent to Triple-A in a corresponding move.