Drew Storen Can't Be Pleased With Washington Nationals

Drew Storen must be wondering what he did wrong right now.

Storen appeared to the closer for the Washington Nationals for a long time to come, but it looks more likely now that Storen will be finding himself pitching in the seventh or eighth inning for the team after Washington signed Rafael Soriano in the off-season. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Washington decides to trade Storen at some point this season.

There are a few teams out there who are competing for a championship that could use a young closer and Storen would fit the bill. I’m not positive what the plan is for the bullpen with the Nationals this season, but having Storen pitch somewhere besides the ninth inning at this point of his career seems counterproductive.

Storen has proved he can be a MLB closer with 43 saves during the 2011 season and while he did get hurt last season and lost the closer job, there was no reason not to give it back to him. I can only imagine that the young righty can’t be the happiest guy out there, even if he doesn’t say anything about it.

It is quite possible that Storen gets a chance to go back to being the closer if Soriano gets hurt this season, but I believe the Nationals can get some value in trading Storen now. There are not a ton of holes on this Washington team, but it must still be discussed. The Nationals have the potential of being a championship team with or without Storen on the roster, but I’m sure there will be rumblings as this season goes on.

Andy Schmidt is a columnist/writer for RantSports. Follow him on Twitter @ASchmidtSports, like his Facebook page or add him to your network on Google.