[14] The Nationals' bullpen struggled over the first quarter of the 2017 season, marked by Treinen's travails in and eventual demotion from the role of closer in April[15] and Kelley subsequently disappointing in the job as his home run and walk rates spiked.

[16] By late May, the role fell to Glover, with Baker describing him as the team's "most durable" option despite his earlier time on the disabled list and hip injury the previous season.

[18] He notched four saves in five days toward the end of May while forming a back-end tandem with veteran setup man Matt Albers.

[19] Glover was placed on the disabled list on June 11 for the second time in the 2017 season with back stiffness after a blown save.

[20] While Glover initially said he had injured his back while showering, he later amended his story, admitting he had been trying to pitch through right shoulder pain since late May and that an MRI showed severe inflammation of his rotator cuff, pain from which he blamed for "overcompensation" that he said led to a vertebra moving out of place when he slipped in the shower.

[24] Glover employed a four-pitch arsenal, with his fastball velocity topping out in the high 90s, a hard slider (which he sometimes described as a cutter)[25] that often reached the mid-90s, and a changeup and curveball he threw less frequently.

[26][27][28] Retired baseball scout Bernie Pleskoff, writing of Glover in 2017, described him as having "a mound demeanor that exudes confidence and no-nonsense".