Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said he wants Sean Burnett available for the ninth inning.

If Riggleman's hints weren't enough this should solidify Burnett as the full time closer for the time being. Burnett came in to bailout Storen in the eighth inning of Saturday's win picking up a four out save. Until Storen, who had a rough spring, shows that he deserves to be the closer Burnett should be the Nationals reliever on fantasy rosters. Storen is owned in most leagues while Burnett is not that should be flipped very soon so grab him while you can.

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said that if the season started tomorrow, Drew Storen and Sean Burnett would be the favorites to garner the most save opportunities.

In other words, he's planning to mix and match with matchups based on whether the opponent has right- or left-handed hitters coming up in the ninth inning. Despite the plan of going with a committee approach going into the season, we fully expect Storen to stake claim to the job at some point.

Sean Burnett pitched a perfect ninth to finish the Nationals' 7-2 win over the Cardinals on Monday.

With Drew Storen and Tyler Clippard having very rough springs, Burnett could be the Nationals' preferred option in the ninth inning at the beginning of the season. Ideally, Storen will run away with the job at some point. However, Burnett looks like the team's most reliable reliever at the moment. He's allowed just an unearned run in 7 1/3 innings this spring.

Nationals and LHP Sean Burnett avoided arbitration Thursday by agreeing to a two-year, $3.7 million contract with a $3.5 million mutual option for 2013.

The contract covers his final two years of arbitration while the option is for his first year of free agency. He'll make $1.4 million next season (includes a $100,000 signing bonus) and $2.3 million in 2012. The Nationals can buy out the option for $250,000. If Burnett declines the option, the buyout would be waived. Burnett, 28, posted a 2.14 ERA and 62/20 K/BB ratio over 63 innings this past season. Not your typical left-handed specialist, Burnett has shown increased effectiveness against right-handed batters over the past two seasons.

Sean Burnett earned his third save by getting two outs in the ninth inning against the Astros Wednesday night.

No official word yet, but we suspect Drew Storen was unavailable after throwing 21 pitches on Tuesday. It's worth noting that Storen has allowed five earned runs in his last two outings, so perhaps manager Jim Riggleman wanted to give his young closer some time to clear his head.

Sean Burnett took a loss on Wednesday night after being called upon in the eighth inning of a tie game.

Burnett worked a clean eighth, but was lifted in favor of Tyler Clippard when he gave up a one-out single in the ninth. Clippard subsequently blew the game, even though Burnett is the one that fell to 0-7. The important note is that Burnett wasn't used as the closer -- again, we'd much rather own Drew Storen.

Sean Burnett earned a save on Friday night with two perfect innings against the Diamondbacks.

Burnett was called upon in the eighth inning and struck out the side. It's unclear if Nationals manager Jim Riggleman was planning on going to Drew Storen, but Burnett was so electric that it would have been odd to take him out. We'd still rather own Storen in this situation, but it's a reminder that Riggleman is going to go by feel here.

Sean Burnett fell to 0-6 after allowing a run in one-third of an inning Saturday versus the Dodgers.

Burnett, brought in to start the bottom of the 10th in a tie game, retired just one of five batters before taking the loss. The left-hander has been pitching very well, but the poor outing could strengthen Drew Storen's case for save chances.

Sean Burnett picked up his first save after pitching 1 2/3 perfect innings of relief Monday versus the Diamondbacks.

With Tyler Clippard having faded, Burnett may well be the Nationals' most trustworthy reliever at the moment. Drew Storen figures to get a chance to audition for the closer's role before the season ends, but expect Burnett to pick up at least a couple of more saves this month.