February 26, 2021 2:08 PM : Hand appears to be the Nationals' closer but may not be fully locked into the job, with manager Dave Martinez merely saying Friday, "In a perfect world, he'll be our closer," Matt Weyrich of NBC Sports Washington reports.
Analysis: It's possible all it takes to qualify as a "perfect world" in Martinez's mind is that Hand remains healthy this spring, something that shouldn't be too difficult given that he hasn't hit the injured list since 2014. If that's all the manager meant, there's little reason to worry here, but it's nevertheless strange to see Hand given less than a full endorsement. He sure looks like the closer after saving 103 games over the last four years while posting a 2.61 ERA, so there's probably not much reason to worry unless the Nationals continue to refer to him in somewhat ambiguous terms.