And after a report on MLB.com that the Nats would like to upgrade their bullpen and are hoping Yankees relievers Aroldis Chapman and Andrew Miller might become available, Nats GM Mike Rizzo was asked about the position.

“We’re always looking for upgrades in the bullpen, and the rotation, and the starting lineup,” Rizzo said during his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan Wednesday morning. “We never stop looking. So whenever a reporter says that, you can’t say, ‘No, you’re wrong.’ We’re not actively looking at any specific player. We certainly haven’t touched base with the Yankees about the two players that he mentioned in the article. And we are happy and satisfied with Jonathan Papelbon as our closer, because he has given us no reason [not to be].”

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Rizzo, of course, is well aware that some observers felt uneasy about Sunday’s ninth inning, “and then they mutter under their breath, ‘Oh yeah, but he got out of it,’ ” the GM said. “You know, the same guy we’re talking about, Chapman, he did not get out of it that same day. He coughed up a save, and cost the Yankees a game. So that position is a rough position, man. It’s one of those positions where if you do your job, you’re expected to do it, and when you blow 1, 2, 3 or 4 of them, you get ostracized by the media.

“But believe me, teammates have trust in Jonathan Papelbon,” Rizzo said. “Because it’s a results-oriented business, and his results are as good as anybody’s. His save percentage is as good as anybody’s in the game, for his career and for the last two or three years, including this year. So we feel pretty good about him. We like our bullpen. It is the number one bullpen in the league, so you can’t do much better than that. We’re trying to put our best 25 on the field and get after it. Again, you never stop looking for additional talent and to upgrade your club. It often makes me chuckle a little bit, because yeah, of course we’re looking, we’re always looking. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t.”

Rizzo was then presented with a hypothetical about trading a No. 2 or No. 3 starter for an elite closer whom you could keep for four or five years. I’ll let you try to fill in the blanks on that one, and in the sentences that follow.

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“There’s no trade you wouldn’t do if it’s the right trade for you at the right time,” Rizzo said. “Would you give up a number two for a reliever? No, you’d never do that, but there’s a reason that he’s not a number two right now; because you’re projecting him to be a number two. And if your projection is right, then you would not make that deal, but a lot of times, when you project, you’re guessing.”

Meanwhile, Rizzo was also asked about the club’s decision to sign Steve Lombardozzi to a minor league deal earlier this week.

“A great kid, a great teammate when he was here,” Rizzo said of the infielder. “His stock has fallen a little bit over the last couple years. We were looking for depth at the AAA level, and Lombo was available, and our farm director called me and said, ‘What do you think about bringing Lombo back?’ I said, ‘I love the kid, a great family, a local guy, and let’s bring him back.’ “

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As it turned out, I had written a piece about Lombardozzi just a few days before the Nats signed him. The timing, Rizzo said, was coincidental.