NL East 2026 Division Preview

Published March 24, 2026

NL East

NY Mets

Philadelphia

Atlanta

Miami

Washington

Spring training is always an interesting time for evaluating pitching, and especially relief pitching. Roles are blurry: some relievers get a shot at a starter role, the opposite is sometimes true with struggling starters moving to relief roles, and non-roster invitees are in the mix as well. Combine that with limited outings, low stress situations, and an overall small sample size and you can end up with some wild results on paper.

Despite all that, we're here to give you a quick breakdown of each division with regard to what their bullpens will likely look like and how they stack up.

New York Mets

After a season in which the back end of the bullpen was unpredictable beyond Edwin Diaz, the Mets' front office went to work reshaping the relief corps. David Stearns landed Devin Williams on a multi-year deal to take over the ninth inning, then brought in Luke Weaver shortly after to handle the setup role, reuniting the duo that shared late-inning duties in the Bronx last season.

Luis Garcia figures to be a solid contributor, as do Huascar Brazobán and Brooks Raley. All three finished the spring with ERAs of 0.00 across a combined 11.1 innings of work. Richard Lovelady and Tobias Myers got a lot of work this spring as well.

An unusual wrinkle: Sean Manaea, the club's highest-paid pitcher, will open the year pitching out of the bullpen rather than the rotation. With Freddy Peralta, Kodai Senga, David Peterson, Clay Holmes, and Nolan McLean all healthy and stretched out, there simply wasn't a rotation spot for the veteran lefty. Manaea will likely piggyback off starters to stay built up, and when the Mets shift to a six-man rotation around mid-April, he'll slide back into the starting five.

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies' bullpen underwent a dramatic overhaul. Only José Alvarado and Tanner Banks return from the group that broke camp a year ago. Everyone else is new. The headliner acquisition is Jhoan Duran, whose triple-digit sinker and splitter give the Phillies a legitimate high-leverage weapon alongside the incumbent Alvarado. Duran's the expected closer for those of you keeping tabs.

Kyle Backhus (acquired from Arizona, stood out this spring), Tim Mayza, Zach Pop, Brad Keller, and Jonathan Bowlan will join the rotation. Mayza and Pop earned their spots by pounding the strike zone and showing they can work multiple innings. The bullpen tilts heavily left-handed, with four southpaws (Alvarado, Banks, Backhus, Mayza) among the eight relievers.

The early-season absence of Orion Kerkering stings. He's on the injured list with a hamstring strain but is eligible to come back by the 11th game of the season (April 7).

Atlanta Braves

The ninth inning in Atlanta belongs to Raisel Iglesias, who retained the closer's role despite the club's flashy offseason addition of Robert Suarez from San Diego. Suarez, who served as the Padres' closer last year, will instead pitch the eighth inning in a setup capacity.

Dylan Lee and Aaron Bummer are both lefties that should contribute substantially this year. Both had an excellent spring ending with 0.00 ERAs. Tyler Kinley and Joel Payamps are expected to get plenty of opportunities as well.

The most exciting bullpen storyline in Atlanta is 20-year-old prospect Didier Fuentes, who earned a spot on the Opening Day roster with a spring for the ages. Over nine scoreless innings, he retired 26 consecutive batters, struck out 17, and didn't allow a single hit or walk. The Braves plan to deploy Fuentes as a long reliever through the first 13 consecutive days of games, after which he'll return to Triple-A Gwinnett to continue his development as a starter.

Miami Marlins

Miami's biggest offseason pitching move was bringing in Pete Fairbanks to close games. After spending his entire career with Tampa Bay, Fairbanks arrives with 90 career saves and a track record of durability. His consistency at the back end of the bullpen was exactly what the Marlins needed.

Calvin Faucher slides into the setup spot after saving 15 games for Miami in 2025 and posting a 3.28 ERA across 65 appearances. He'll also serve as the primary fill-in closer when Fairbanks needs a breather.

The left-handed contingent features Andrew Nardi and John King. Nardi's return has been one of the feel-good stories of camp where he's allowed just one hit in over four scoreless spring innings. King, a veteran signed from St. Louis, brings six years of major league experience and 36 career holds.

Rounding out the group are right-handers Anthony Bender, Tyler Phillips, Lake Bachar, and Michael Petersen. Bachar caught the coaching staff's eye in the final spring outing, hitting personal-best velocity at 96 mph and generating two slider strikeouts.

Washington Nationals

Of all the NL East bullpens, Washington's is the biggest question mark. First-year manager Blake Butera hasn't named a closer, and the team was still considering adding an arm through waivers or free agency right up to Opening Day.

The projected relief corps includes Cionel Pérez, Clayton Beeter, Cole Henry, Brad Lord, PJ Poulin, Andre Granillo, Ken Waldichuk, and Gus Varland.

The entire pitching staff was reshaped after the trade of All-Star MacKenzie Gore to Texas. The rotation is headlined by Cade Cavalli. Joining him are Jake Irvin, spring training pickups Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas, and Foster Griffin.

Without a defined hierarchy in the bullpen, Washington will likely rely on a matchup-based committee approach to handle save situations.

— InsidethePen Staff

2026 Division Previews

NL West NL Central NL East AL Central AL East AL West