TODAY: Williams indeed underwent an internal brace surgery rather than a Tommy John procedure, according to Nusbaum and other reporters. This puts Williams roughly on pace to return by July or August 2026, if all goes well with his rehab.
JULY 9: Nationals right-hander Trevor Williams told members of the media today that he has a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament and will undergo surgery. He is expecting it to be internal brace surgery, though a full Tommy John procedure is still a possibility. He will therefore miss the remainder of this season and possibly all of 2026 as well. He’s already on the 60-day injured list. Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post was among those to pass the news along.
Williams, 33, made his most recent start on Wednesday of last week. The first game of a doubleheader against the Tigers, Williams had a less-than-ideal experience. He struggled in the top of the first but, with a long day ahead, the Nats left him out there to take a beating. Pitchers usually aren’t allowed to throw more than 3o to 40 pitches in a single inning but the Nats let Williams throw 54 in that frame, as he eventually got out of it with six runs having scored. He tossed two more innings after that.
Two days later, he was placed on the 15-day IL with an elbow sprain. Yesterday, he was transferred to the 60-day IL, which indicated the Nats didn’t expect him back for a few months. With the news of this surgery, he’ll be out much longer than that. The timelines for an internal brace procedure can be a bit shorter than with a full Tommy John, though it’s still usually about a year.
Williams has been part of Washington’s rotation since 2023. He signed a two-year, $13MM deal ahead of that 2023 season. The first campaign in Washington didn’t go especially well, as he posted a 5.55 earned run average over his 31 starts.
Last year, he showed significant improvement, though in a smaller sample size. He missed a few months with a flexor strain, limiting him to just 13 starts, but with a 2.03 ERA. There was surely some good luck in there, as his .267 batting average on balls in play and 80.2% strand rate were both to the fortunate side. Part of the reason he was able to strand so many runners is that only 4.2% of his fly balls left the yard, a massive drop from his 17% rate in 2023. But on the other hand, his 22.7% strikeout rate, 6.9% walk rate and 45.4% ground ball rate were all strong figures. His 2.79 FIP and 3.96 SIERA suggested he could post good numbers even with some regression in the luck department.
The Nats decided to bring him back to serve as a veteran back-end guy, an understandable move for a rebuilding club with lots of inexperienced starters. They gave him another two-year deal, with the $14MM guarantee amounting to a slight pay bump compared to his prior deal. Unfortunately, his luck turned far in the other direction this year. In 17 starts, he posted a 6.21 ERA here in 2025. His strikeout rate dropped to 17.4% and his grounder rate to 33%, but he still only walked 5.6% of opponents. His .347 BABIP and 61.6% strand rate both swung far to the unlucky side. His 4.08 FIP and 4.46 SIERA suggested some correction over the rest of the season may have been likely but that won’t happen now.
Williams will spend the rest of this year on the shelf and will start next year on the IL as well. Depending on his surgery and rehab, he could work his way into the mix during the 2026 season. Whether there’s a rotation spot for him there will depend upon what the Nats do this winter.
For now, they have a rotation consisting of MacKenzie Gore, Michael Soroka, Mitchell Parker, Jake Irvin and Shinnosuke Ogasawara. Soroka is on a one-year deal and likely to be dealt this month. Gore has been the subject of some trade speculation since the Nats are struggling to come out of their rebuild and he’s only controlled for two more seasons after this one, but there hasn’t been any real suggestion the Nats want to make such a move. Parker and Irvin are serviceable back-end guys. Ogasawara only has one major league start so far, which didn’t go especially well.
Josiah Gray had UCL surgery last summer and could perhaps be back in the mix later this year. Cade Cavalli is in Triple-A and could be back in the majors at some point. Prospects like Travis Sykora or Jarlin Susana could get into the mix down the line but both are currently injured and neither has reached the Triple-A level yet.
If the Nats want to accelerate the end of their rebuild, spending some money to bolster this rotation group would be a sensible plan for this winter. However, the future is currently murky, with manager Dave Martinez and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo having just been fired a few days ago.
Photos courtesy of David Frerker and Geoff Burke, Imagn Images
Bummer!
TJS at age 33 sucks. Probably going to settle for a cheap two-year deal.
He’s in year 1 of a 2-year deal with the Nats
Ah, did not know that thank you for the clarification. He’s good for next year then.
He is good for next year only because he will get paid whether or not he pitches.
so going to at least get some money while he covers and then take a pillow deal at 35. I would not be shocked if the next deal is not even a big league contract. Being 34/35, and having nothing as a platform year, and already being a fringe starter before that point.
When he hits FA, this feels like a pirates signing a 2 year 1.5m per deal. If he works out they can flip him easily, if not it is only a 3m gamble.
Seeing that the Nats allowed him to throw 54 pitches in an inning, and then proceed to bring him back out there for two more innings is basically abuse of pitcher.
Almost unfathomable in this day and age to do that – almost lawsuit-worthy under the circumstances. It points out that the coaching and training side must have been an utter cluster**ck down there.
Do not watch the nats- but that is almost inexcusable. I now get why they fired their manager. I get wanting to preserve your bullpen, but 54 pitches in a single inning has to be an inning he gave up at least 5 runs- clearly not effective. At some point preserve the bullpen by using a position player to throw batting practice instead.
That was the first inning and he only threw 86 pitches total. So I wouldn’t go overboard on the abuse assessment.
Have you ever pitched at a level that you would have any kind of clue that 54 pitches in an inning is utterly absurd? And that to send someone back out after that is basically insane?
In the majors, if a pitcher has a 35 plus pitch inning they are usually pulled.- either at some point in that inning if they can’t wrap it up quickly or almost surely they are not coming back out.for another.
Nothing to see here. According to this comment section, dozens and dozens of top-end pitchers have been blowing their elbows out every year for decades.
Rizzo had an offseason for the ages
Time to call up Cavalli after the all-star break
He has been getting hit hard recently.
I never understood why he was signed for 2 years. Did he have several offers? So another bust in free agency.
Nope, He didn’t sign until Dec 31, 2024. Nobody else wanted him at that price. Rizzo overpaid.
So he played hardball with Kyle Finnegan and nice with Trevor Williams.
i am not so sure. It was not like he got an over market contract. That is a little late, and they may not have been bidding against anyone, but the market would likely have developed for him (maybe not last year- since i feel like Williams is on par with a Heaney who signed super late without a market forming).
The SP market last offseason was weird (mid level guys signed early for more than expected, and a lot of the bottom of that mid level sort of hung out for really long and got really cheap deals)
Bringing Williams back at $7 million a season was a terrible move, and they certainly shouldn’t retain him beyond next season. His season stats last year were skewed by the fact he started 5-0 before missing nearly four months. It was also quite clearly a career year, as he hadn’t been a good starter since 2018. Williams wanted more money after that career year but nobody was offering a better deal so he resigned on Dec. 31, 2024.
Cavalli’s been out since having TJ after his first MLB start in 2022! He was Rizzo’s 1st round pick (#22 overall) out of Oklahoma in 2020. At the time of his promotion in 2022, he was the Nats #1 pitching prospect. Yesterday he gave up 7 ER 8 H in 3.2 IP vs, Worcester, Out of 44 swings, Worcester only missed four times. It was the 2nd straight start he’d given up 7 runs. In June he had w 5.64 ERA and 1.52 WHIP in 22.1 IP. It looks like he’s gone from a potential mid rotation starter to a bullpen arm,
Gray and C Kiebert Ruiz were the centerpieces of the Scherzer and Turner to the Dodgers deal, This one went the exact opposite way of the Soto deal. Ruiz’s contract is “underwater” and Gray’s 27 yrs old now with only one good year. He had a 3.1 WAR season in 2023. His FIP was 4.93, over a run higher than his 3.91 ERA. Gray tinkers too much (at one point he had eight pitches) and is a gopher ball pitcher. He gave up 22 in 2023 and 38 in 2022.
IMO the Nats absolutely need to get LSU LHP Kade Anderson, spend money and start winning next year. Unless they’re going to abort and blow up this rebuild attempt like the CWS aborted and blew up their previous rebuild attempt a couple years ago, they can’t wait on a HS player like Holliday. Blowing up this rebuild would be really stupid. It would risk becoming irrelevant in the local area. Unlike Chicago and some other MLB cities, the DC area isn’t a great “baseball town.” Even those of us who grew up here have divided loyalties because we grew up Orioles fans…and lapsed because of Angelos. He’s thankfully gone.
DC’s not a great baseball town that’s going to continue to support more losing. DC’s a “Commanders town” that wants to be a “basketball town” but the Bullets/Wiz are cursed. The situation’s not as bad as Tampa, Miami and the A’s, but it could get that way eventually if the Lerners don’t spend money or sell to somebody who will.
A 7MM AAV for two years after pitching to a 2+ ERA is not a “terrible” move. There are much worse contracts than that.
When the pitcher is 32 and hasn’t had a good season since 2018, yes it absolutely is. Williams wasn’t a kid that had a breakthrough. The chance of that occuring at age 32 is so miniscule it’s rediculous. He had a career “year”…that consisted of only 13 starts. That’s why *nobody* else in MLB wanted him at that price. It’s not like the Nats snapped him up right after the end of the World Series. He lingered on free agency until New Year’s Eve.
7mm is not actually a tad light for a guy with an ERA in the very high 4s that can throw 160 innings. The 2nd year is sort of the killer, but honestly if he signed a 1 year 10 million, that would be in line with generic bad inning eater (ie Kyle Gibson whom got i think 4ish million to have a few terrible starts and then retire)
I have to agree with you. Look at their run differential. They are not far behind the Mets and Phillies in scoring runs. Josh bell has been very good lately but I think this team would have a few more wins if alex call played more. They would have also scored more runs.The starting rotation has been bad aside for gore. Irvin can give some good games but that’s about it. Get anderson, hopefully sykora is dominant and they actually get 3 good relievers. Trading scherzer and turner should have gotten some talent in return but did not. Gray led starting pitchers in walks and homers one year. He made an all star game. Big deal. The game is just a marketing gimmick. Ruiz sucks.
the issue with their haul from the dodger is they went lower upside for mlb ready players. Kiebert was expected to be better- but to be honest, he has not been that from the projections. At the time of the trade, he was expected to be maybe top 10 catcher, but more in line with 1A with another catcher similar to him as 1b.
Another Tommy John. Internal brace. Ok. See you in a few yrs.
Have a speedy recovery Trevor!
He doesn’t need to. He is set for life thanks to mike Rizzo.
How’s this dude still in the league
In 2018 Trevor Williams was the best pitcher in baseball for 1/2 season. I guess teams still hope he can recapture some of that.
This dude has always stunk
You know things are bad when something like this actively makes your team better.
Well no wonder. Look at that fierce look on his face as he flays. Looks like a Dancing with the Star doing the tango
Manager left him out there for 56 pitches in an inning. It says it was a start before his last which was last week, so…early this month, was Dave Martinez the manger then or interim Miguel Cairo, I wonder, but not enough to look it up.