There were a lot of retreads brought in to audition for the 2019 Washington Nationals bullpen. Roenis Elias was not one of them. He was targeted, and gifted a job.
While many of the relievers proved ineffective and were jettisoned (Kyle Barraclough, Tony Sipp, Justin Miller, Trevor Rosenthal, Dan Jennings, Jonny Venters, we could go on), Elias didn’t really have the opportunity to showcase his talents.
Acquired as part of a deadline deal with the Seattle Mariners, Elias was added to a stumbling and bumbling bullpen with hopes of adding a little stability.