Nationals Option Josiah Gray, Robert Hassell III
The Nationals announced a trio of camp cuts this morning. Starter Josiah Gray, outfielder Robert Hassell III and reliever Julian Fernández will all begin the season in the minors.
Gray was an All-Star in 2023 after making 30 starts with a 3.91 ERA. He was hit hard over two starts the following season and underwent UCL surgery in July. Gray didn’t pitch in MLB last year as he rehabbed the injury. He made a trio of abbreviated starts in the minors to at least get some game action in before the offseason began.
The 28-year-old has taken the ball twice in camp. He pitched 4 2/3 frames of one-run ball with five strikeouts. The Nationals will continue his buildup as a depth starter at Triple-A Rochester. Mitchell Parker, Andrew Alvarez and Jake Eder are also on the 40-man roster but beginning the season in the minors.
Gray’s demotion seemingly positions Jake Irvin as Washington’s fifth starter. Cade Cavalli will take the ball on Opening Day against Matthew Boyd and the Cubs. Miles Mikolas, Foster Griffin and Zack Littell signed one-year free agent deals that should lock them into the rotation.
Irvin led the team with 180 innings last season, but he was tagged for an ugly 5.70 ERA while striking out fewer than 16% of opponents. That left him to compete for a rotation role this spring. To his credit, the 29-year-old righty has had an excellent camp. Irvin has allowed just two runs while striking out 15 across 13 1/3 innings. He has toyed with a deeper pitch mix, throwing more cutters and sliders after leaning mostly on his fastballs and curveball last year.
Hassell, a former top 10 pick who came over from San Diego in the Juan Soto trade, hit .223/.257/.315 over his first 70 MLB games last year. He struck out nine times while walking just once in 29 spring plate appearances. Hassell heads back to Triple-A, where he had a strong season (.310/.383/.456 in 76 games) a year ago.
The Nationals have James Wood, Jacob Young and Daylen Lile assured of spots in the MLB outfield. Dylan Crews will presumably be in there as well, though it’s at least conceivable that the Nats could determine he’d benefit from Triple-A reps. The former second overall pick limped to a .208/.280/.352 showing in his first full MLB season. He has only picked up three hits while striking out 10 times in 32 plate appearances this spring. Offseason waiver pickup Joey Wiemer has also had a rough camp and still has an option remaining.
Nationals Notes: Wood, Cavalli, Williams
Spring Training is a time for players to work at different positions in low-stakes settings. Perhaps the most interesting development from the first week of Nationals camp is that All-Star outfielder James Wood has made a couple starts in right field. Two of his first three Spring Training appearances have come at the position.
The 23-year-old has not played right field in a regular season MLB game. Wood had a little over 400 innings there in the minor leagues. He has been exclusively a left fielder or designated hitter over his season and a half in the majors.
Nats manager Blake Butera hasn’t made any declarations about a position change. There’s no harm in reintroducing Wood to the position even if they intend for him to see the majority of his regular season work in left. The Nationals didn’t get him any action in right field during Spring Training 2025.
Daylen Lile was the primary right fielder after he came up in May. Lile hit the ground running offensively, batting .299/.347/.498 through his first 91 MLB contests. It was a different story on the other side of the ball. Lile was among the worst defensive outfielders in the league. He’s a good athlete with plus speed but turned a handful of easy outs into hits with poor routes or questionable decisions to let catchable balls drop in front of him.
Lile made 21 starts in left field and 52 in right. He didn’t grade well at either position. Wood has also had poor defensive metrics, albeit not to the same extent. If the Nationals feel he’s the better corner defender of the two, they could prefer to have Wood in right field against lineups that skew left-handed. They’ll each get a decent amount of DH work as well.
Dylan Crews can play anywhere in the outfield, though he doesn’t have much left field experience in pro ball. Jacob Young is easily the team’s best outfield defender. He’ll be in center whenever he’s in the lineup but fits best in a fourth outfield role because of his light bat.
However the outfield sorts itself out, those four players all go into camp with spots on the MLB roster secured. That’s not true of many players on the pitching staff. Free agent signees Miles Mikolas and Foster Griffin join Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray as likely members of the season-opening rotation. Gray missed all of last season recovering from July 2024 internal brace surgery. Cavalli came back from Tommy John surgery of his own last year. He made 10 starts late in the season, pitching to a 4.25 ERA across 48 2/3 innings.
Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner wrote about the pitchers’ respective rehab processes this week. President of baseball operations Paul Toboni told reporters that Cavalli is “full go” this spring. That might also include a repertoire adjustment.
The 27-year-old righty said he worked with pitching coaches Simon Mathews and Sean Doolittle to incorporate a sweeper. Cavalli’s primary breaking ball is an 86 mph knuckle-curve that has more of a vertical shape. A sweeper would give him something with an east-west profile that he can run away from right-handed hitters. Cavalli tossed two scoreless innings in his exhibition debut this week.
Gray has yet to get into a Spring Training game, though he’s expected to be fully built up by Opening Day. If he secures the fourth starter role, that’d leave one spot available for a group including Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker, Brad Lord, Andrew Alvarez and Jake Eder.
Veteran right-hander Trevor Williams is midway through his own surgical rehab. He underwent an internal brace procedure last July and figures to be out at least through the All-Star Break. As Mark Zuckerman of Nats Journal wrote recently, Williams paused his throwing program and went for precautionary imaging after feeling some elbow soreness last weekend. It’s common for pitchers to have pauses along the way in their return from elbow ligament procedures. Butera downplayed the team’s concern on Saturday, though the Nationals haven’t provided any specifics on the MRI results.
Nationals, Josiah Gray Avoid Arbitration
The Nationals announced that they have signed a one-year deal with right-hander Josiah Gray to avoid arbitration. Gray will make $1.35MM in 2026, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN. That’s the same salary Gray made in 2025 while recovering from elbow surgery.
Gray will celebrate his 28th birthday in a little over a week. Once a notable prospect with the Dodgers, he came over to the Nationals in the 2021 deadline deal which sent Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to Los Angeles. That deal hasn’t worked out especially well for the Nats so far. Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz were hoped to be major building blocks in Washington but Ruiz has struggled to cement himself as a viable big league catcher. Gerardo Carrillo and Donovan Casey, the other two guys acquired in that deal, are no longer with the Nats.
As for Gray, he has had some decent but not overwhelming results for Washington. He made 28 starts for the Nats in 2022 but with an unimpressive 5.02 earned run average. He dropped his ERA to 3.91 in 2023 but with less impressive numbers under the hood. His 20.5% strikeout rate and 11.5% walk rate were both subpar. It seems a fairly high 80.4% strand rate helped him keep runs off the board. His 4.93 FIP and 5.08 SIERA were less bullish than his ERA.
He has mostly been on the shelf since then. He made just two starts in 2024 before landing on the injured list due to a flexor strain in his throwing elbow. He began a rehab assignment in June but then was shut down with renewed discomfort. He required Tommy John surgery in July. He finished that year on the IL and eclipsed three years of service time in the process. That qualified him for arbitration for the first time going into 2025. He and the Nats agreed to a $1.35MM salary to avoid arbitration.
Gray spent the year rehabbing. He made three brief rehab starts in September, getting stretched out enough to throw 2 2/3 innings in the final outing, but he didn’t get back to the big league club. The way the arb system works, player salaries almost never go down. For guys who miss an entire season, they usually see their salaries hold steady. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projected that would happen with Gray and it has.
Much has changed since Gray has been out. The rebuild effort stalled out to the point that president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez were both fired in July. They have since been replaced by Paul Toboni and Blake Butera respectively.
It’s unclear when the front office plans to return to contention but Gray is now down to two years of club control. His teammate MacKenzie Gore is also two years from free agency and has been in plenty of trade rumors. Infielder CJ Abrams has also been in trade rumors despite being controlled for three more seasons. If Gray has a strong first half in 2026, it’s possible he will also be in a lot of trade talk this summer as well.
Photo courtesy of Reggie Hildred, Imagn Images
Nationals Outright Trey Lipscomb
The Nationals announced Thursday that infielder Trey Lipscomb went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Rochester. Washington also reinstated catcher Drew Millas, lefty DJ Herz and righties Trevor Williams and Josiah Gray from the 60-day injured list. The Nats currently have five openings on their 40-man roster.
Lipscomb, 25, was the team’s third-round pick in 2022. He’s seen limited MLB time in each of the past two seasons, struggling to a .206/.272/.237 batting line in 215 turns at the plate. The University of Tennessee product posted roughly average offensive numbers across multiple minor league levels in 2023, but he’s been below-average in Triple-A in each of the past two seasons, logging a combined .261/.320/.392 batting line.
The majority of Lipscomb’s time on the field has been spent at third base, but he’s seen some time at all three other infield spots and in left field. Scouting reports pegged him as a roughly average defender at the hot corner, and he’s indeed posted decent grades there in limited big league work. He lacks the service time or prior outright to reject this assignment to the minors, so he’ll stick in the organization and hope to hit his way back to the majors in 2026.
Millas suffered a broken finger that required surgery late in the season. He should be healthy next spring. Herz and Gray both had UCL surgery in 2024 and figure to be ready next spring as well. Williams underwent an internal brace procedure on his own UCL back in July and will miss most, if not all of the upcoming 2026 season as a result.
Nationals Notes: Garcia, Parker, Gray
Nationals infielder Luis García Jr. made his first career appearance at first base during Tuesday’s loss in Atlanta. García started the game and played all eight defensive innings. Nasim Nuñez played second base with CJ Abrams back in the lineup at shortstop.
García began taking pregame drills at first base a little over a month ago. The Nats got to a point where they felt comfortable playing the 25-year-old there in a game. García is a middling defender at the keystone. Washington doesn’t have an answer at first base for the 2026 season. García’s .253/.290/.399 slash line wouldn’t play as a regular there either, but there’s no downside in expanding his flexibility.
The former highly-regarded prospect could find himself on the roster bubble as he’d be due a raise on this year’s $4.5MM salary if tendered an arbitration contract. He may have a better chance of remaining on the roster if he’s not locked into the keystone. Teams generally prefer not to carry second base-only players on the bench. García’s inability to play shortstop still leaves him as an imperfect fit for a utility role.
Nuñez might be a better candidate for that job. He’s the team’s best defensive infielder. The 5’8″ switch-hitter has had a very light bat for most of his career, but he has connected for an out-of-nowhere four home runs in 12 games since being recalled from Triple-A at the start of September. He has picked up a few more starts down the stretch as he tries to stake a claim to an Opening Day roster spot.
The Nats also made a change to their pitching roles over the weekend. Lefty Mitchell Parker, who started his first 30 appearances, has been moved to the bullpen (link via Jessica Camerato of MLB.com). He worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings to lock down a 3-2 win over the Mets on Sunday, getting the save in his first career relief outing. It was an impressive performance from the second-year southpaw, who has struggled to a 5.85 ERA across 158 1/3 innings as a starter.
Parker had better numbers as a rookie. He turned in a 4.29 ERA over 29 starts a year ago. Both he and Jake Irvin took steps back this year, going from capable back-of-the-rotation arms to two of the least effective starters in MLB. Irvin has held his rotation spot despite allowing 5.69 earned runs per nine over his 32 starts. The Nats are finishing the season with a rotation of Cade Cavalli, Brad Lord, Andrew Alvarez and Irvin. They shut down MacKenzie Gore with an ankle injury this afternoon, so they may need to turn back to Parker for a final spot start to close the year.
Gore will be an offseason trade candidate as he enters his final two years of club control. Cavalli is probably the only other pitcher whom the club would be willing to pencil into next year’s rotation right now. Whomever takes over baseball operations will need to make multiple additions.
Josiah Gray will rejoin the rest of the aforementioned group in battling for spots at the back end. Gray has completed his rehab from last July’s UCL surgery. The Nats opted not to press him back into action for an MLB start and decided to shut him down this week, but he’ll go into what is expected to be an essentially typical offseason (link via Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com).
Nationals Sign Paul DeJong
9:51am: The Nationals have officially announced DeJong’s signing. Right-hander Josiah Gray was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room for the infielder on the 40-man roster.
6:54am: The Nationals are in agreement with infielder Paul DeJong on a one-year deal that guarantees him $1MM, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale. According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, DeJong’s deal includes $600K in potential incentives. The Nationals’ 40-man roster is full, but the club has multiple candidates for the 60-day IL who can be placed on the shelf to make room for DeJong once the signing becomes official.
DeJong, 31, was a fourth-round pick by the Cardinals back in 2015 and rose through the minors quickly to make his big league debut in 2017 at the age of 23. DeJong looked quite good in his first season in the majors, slashing .285/.325/.532 (123 wRC+) and clubbing 25 homers in just 108 games while splitting time between shortstop and second base. DeJong finished second in NL Rookie of the Year voting to Cody Bellinger that year, and by the time 2018 rolled around he had established himself as the Cardinals’ everyday shortstop.
Prior to DeJong’s second season with St. Louis, the sides agreed to a six-year extension that ran through the 2023 season with club options for 2024 and ’25 that guaranteed him $26MM. Over the next two seasons, DeJong clubbed 49 homers in 274 games but hit just .237/.316/.440 (102 wRC+) overall as the .349 BABIP that sustained his star-caliber rookie season crashed down to a below average .271 BABIP. Even as his bat fell to something closer to league average, however, DeJong’s strong work on defense was enough to justify his extension and place in the Cardinals’ lineup as an everyday fixture.
DeJong’s offense continued to take a tumble from there, however. While his defense remained respectable, DeJong hit just .200/.273/.352 (72 wRC+) from 2020 to 2023, and ultimately found himself bouncing between the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Giants in the final guaranteed year of his contract extension. DeJong eventually signed with the White Sox on a one-year, $1.75MM deal last winter, hoping to rebuild his value while taking over for Tim Anderson as the regular shortstop on the south side of Chicago. 2024 turned into a solid rebound season for DeJong, as he ultimately posted a decent .227/.276/.427 (95 wRC+) slash line with 24 homers in 139 games, his best power output in half a decade. DeJong split his season between the White Sox and Royals. He moved to third base in deference to Bobby Witt Jr. upon being dealt to Kansas City and proved to be a superlative defender at the position despite his glove work at shortstop hovering around the league average.
Now that DeJong is set to join the Nationals for the 2025 season, it seems likely he’ll serve as the club’s everyday third baseman. It’s a role that previously seemed likely to go to a platoon of Jose Tena and Amed Rosario, but Tena’s career wRC+ of just 80 does not inspire confidence in him as a starting caliber player while Rosario has the versatility to move around the infield and outfield as needed while playing primarily against left-handed pitchers. It’s possible Rosario could even be tasked with spelling DeJong against some lefties, as while both veterans are right-handed hitters Rosario is a career .298/.337/.460 hitter against southpaws while DeJong actually has reverse splits both for his career and in 2024. In addition to likely serving as the club’s primary third baseman, DeJong gives the Nationals a viable backup to CJ Abrams at shortstop with better defense at the position than either Abrams or Rosario.
The signing should significantly raise the floor for the Nationals on the infield, offering the club a solid defender at third base who has enough pop in his bat to provide 20 homers a year in spite of below-average on-base ability. That’s an undeniably useful player for a Nationals club that saw its third basemen finish third from the bottom in both wRC+ (67) and fWAR (-0.4) last year. DeJong should be able to easily clear both of those benchmarks, and in doing so allow the club to be patient with top third base prospect Brady House as he establishes himself against Triple-A pitchers this season with an eye toward making his big league debut later this year. Once House is ready to take over at the hot corner, DeJong could become impressive bench depth for the Nationals or a potential trade piece over the summer, depending on where the club is in the standings at that point.
Players Who Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins
Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move these days. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, most clubs have a report date of February 12th or 13th. The Cubs and Dodgers are a bit earlier than most, on the 9th and 11th, respectively. That’s due to the fact that those clubs are heading to Tokyo, with exhibition games in mid-March, followed by regular season games against each other on March 18th and 19th. All the other teams have Opening Day scheduled for March 27th.
It’s worth pointing out that the 60 days don’t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.
There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso, as well as Nick Pivetta, Andrew Heaney, David Robertson, Randal Grichuk, Kenley Jansen, Harrison Bader, Lance Lynn, Jose Quintana and many more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together in the next week or so. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment.
Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon.
Angels: Robert Stephenson
Stephenson underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery with internal brace in late April. Given the 14-plus months required to recovery from such a procedure, he’s not likely to be ready in the early parts of the 2025 season.
Astros: Cristian Javier, J.P. France, Bennett Sousa
Javier underwent Tommy John surgery in June and is targeting a return in the second half of 2025. France is recovering from shoulder surgery and hoping to return in July. Sousa’s timeline is less clear but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in April. Other possibilities include Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr., who are expected to start the season on the IL but returning in April or May still seems possible.
Athletics: Luis Medina, Ken Waldichuk
Medina underwent Tommy John surgery in August and Waldichuk in May. Medina might miss the entire season while Waldichuk is likely to miss a few months at least.
Blue Jays: Angel Bastardo, Alek Manoah
The Jays grabbed Bastardo from the Red Sox in the Rule 5 draft in December, even though he had Tommy John surgery in June. Manoah also had Tommy John around that time and is hoping to be back by August.
Braves: Joe Jiménez
Jimenez had knee surgery in November with a timeline of eight to twelve months, so he might miss the entire season. Spencer Strider and Ronald Acuña Jr. are also possibilities, though those will be more borderline. Strider had internal brace surgery in April, so returning in May is somewhat possible. Acuña is recovering from a torn ACL last year and it’s possible he’ll miss the first month or so of the season. Given how important both of those players are, Atlanta probably won’t put them on the 60-day IL unless it’s 100% certain that they can’t come back in the first 60 days of the season.
Brewers: Robert Gasser
Gasser had Tommy John surgery in June and will be looking at a late 2025 return even in a best-case scenario.
Diamondbacks: Kyle Nelson
Nelson’s timeline is unclear, but he underwent surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome in May and missed the remainder of the 2024 season.
Dodgers: Gavin Stone, Brusdar Graterol, River Ryan, Kyle Hurt, Emmet Sheehan
Stone underwent shoulder surgery in October that will cause him to miss the entire year. Graterol also underwent shoulder surgery and isn’t expected back until the second half of 2025. Each of Ryan, Hurt and Sheehan required Tommy John surgery in 2024: Ryan in August, Hurt in July and Sheehan in May.
Guardians: Sam Hentges, David Fry, Shane Bieber, Trevor Stephan
Hentges required shoulder surgery in September, with an expected recovery timeline of 12 to 14 months. Fry underwent UCL surgery in November with a more fluid timeline. He won’t be able to throw at all in 2025 but could be cleared for designated hitter action six to eight months from that surgery. Bieber is perhaps a borderline case, as he underwent Tommy John surgery in April. Given his importance, the Guards may not transfer him to the 60-day IL until it’s assured that he won’t be back in the first 60 days of the season. Stephan underwent Tommy John surgery in March and perhaps has a chance to avoid the 60-day IL, depending on his progression.
Mariners: Matt Brash, Jackson Kowar
Brash underwent Tommy John surgery in May. Given the typical 14-month recovery timeline from that procedure, he would be looking at a midsummer return. However, it was reported in November that he’s ahead of schedule and could be back by the end of April. That’s an optimistic timeline but the Mariners will probably hold off moving him to the 60-day IL until the door is closed to an early return. Kowar underwent Tommy John in March, so an early return in 2025 is possible for him, depending on how his recovery is going.
Marlins: Braxton Garrett, Eury Pérez
Garrett just underwent UCL surgery last month and is going to miss the entire 2025 season. Pérez underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year and will miss at least part of the beginning of the 2025 campaign.
Mets: Christian Scott
Scott required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in September and will likely miss the entire 2025 season.
Nationals: Josiah Gray, Mason Thompson
Gray required a Tommy John surgery and internal brace hybrid procedure in July, meaning he’ll miss most or perhaps all of the 2025 season. Thompson required Tommy John surgery in March, so he has a better chance to make an early-season return if his recovery is going well.
Orioles: Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells
Bradish and Wells each required UCL surgery in June, so they’re both slated to miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.
Padres: Joe Musgrove
Musgrove had Tommy John surgery in October and will therefore miss the entire 2025 season. However, the Padres only have 36 guys on their 40-man roster at the moment, so they’ll need to fill those spots before moving Musgrove to the 60-day IL.
Pirates: Dauri Moreta
Moreta required UCL surgery in March, so an early-season return is possible if his rehab is going well, though he could end up on the 60-day if the club goes easy with his ramp-up or he suffers any kind of setback.
Rangers: Josh Sborz
Sborz underwent shoulder surgery in November and is expected to miss the first two to three months of the upcoming season.
Rays: Nate Lavender, Ha-Seong Kim
The Rays took Lavender from the Mets in the Rule 5 draft, even though he had Tommy John in May and will miss the start of the season. Kim’s status is more up in the air after he had shoulder surgery in October. Various reports have suggested he could return anywhere from April to July. The Rays made a sizable investment in Kim, their largest ever for a position player, so they probably won’t shelve him until they get more clarity on his status.
Red Sox: Patrick Sandoval, Garrett Whitlock, Chris Murphy
Sandoval had internal brace surgery in June of last year and should miss the first half of the season. Whitlock had the same surgery in May, so he could have a bit of a better chance to return in the first 60 days of the season. Murphy underwent a fully Tommy John surgery in April and will certainly miss the beginning of the upcoming season. Another possibility is Lucas Giolito, who had internal brace surgery in March, though he expects to be ready by Opening Day.
Reds: Julian Aguiar, Brandon Williamson
Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery in October and Williamson in September, so both are likely slated to miss the entire 2025 season.
Tigers: Sawyer Gipson-Long
Gipson-Long underwent internal brace surgery in April. On top of that, he underwent left hip labral repair surgery in July, with the club hoping to address both issues at the same time. It seems likely that he’ll miss some of the early 2025 schedule, but his IL placement will depend on how he’s been progressing.
White Sox: Jesse Scholtens
Scholtens underwent Tommy John surgery in early March. Whether he goes on the 60-day IL or not will depend on how he’s progressed since then and when the White Sox expect him back.
Yankees: Jonathan Loáisiga
Loáisiga underwent internal brace surgery in April, so he could potentially be back on the mound early in the 2025 season. It was reported in December that the Yankees are expecting him to be in the bullpen by late April or early May, so he’ll only end up on the 60-day IL if he suffers a bit of a setback.
Nationals’ Josiah Gray Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
July 24: Gray underwent a Tommy John procedure and internal brace, tweets Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com. He’ll miss at least the bulk of next season.
July 19: Nationals right-hander Josiah Gray has been diagnosed with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and will undergo season-ending surgery next week, tweets Bobby Blanco of MASNsports.com. Gray tells reporters that it hasn’t yet been determined whether he’ll undergo a traditional Tommy John surgery, an internal brace procedure or a hybrid of both (X link via Andrew Golden of the Washington Post). That determination won’t be made until the surgery is being performed, but he’ll be sidelined well into next season regardless.
Gray, 26, came to the Nats alongside catcher Keibert Ruiz in the blockbuster 2021 deadline trade sending Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Dodgers. He stepped into the Nats’ rotation that same summer and has been a fixture on the staff since, although he’s only been healthy enough to make two starts in 2024. Gray was rocked for 13 runs in just 8 1/3 innings across those two outings before heading to the injured list with a flexor strain.
Just a few weeks ago, things looked to be trending up for Gray. He went out on a minor league rehab assignment on June 9 and, after a shaky first outing, allowed four runs in 15 innings across his next three starts. He tossed six innings in a Triple-A appearance on June 25 and allowed just one run on four hits and no walks with four punchouts. At the time, it seemed that with one more rehab outing, Gray would get the go-ahead to rejoin the Nationals’ rotation.
His next start, however, yielded disastrous results. He was torched for seven runs in just three innings and exited the game with an injury — this time feeling discomfort in his right elbow. Further testing was performed, and Gray unfortunately received the worst-case scenario for any pitcher when he undergoes testing on his elbow.
A former second-round pick, Gray was long touted as a top prospect before his big league debut — not necessarily because of an ace-caliber ceiling but because he was considered a very likely third or fourth starter. In 2023, he looked to have emerged as just that with the Nats, tossing 159 innings with a 3.91 ERA. Gray’s 20.5% strikeout rate and particularly his 11.5% walk rate were worse than the league average, but he substantially cut back on his prior home run troubles last season. Even with sub-par strikeout and walk rates, Gray looked the part of an innings-eating back-end starter, and given that he was just entering his age-26 season, the possibility for another step forward remained.
Now, he’ll be sidelined well into his age-27 campaign — potentially missing the majority of next season, depending on the extent of the surgery he requires. A Tommy John or Tommy John/internal brace hybrid could come with a recovery timetable of up to 14 months. If his recovery is indeed on the lengthy end of the spectrum, it’s possible this injury will knock him out until Opening Day 2026.
Gray entered the 2024 season with 2.075 years of service. He’s been collecting big league service time on the injured list and will continue to do so for the remainder of the year. He’ll finish at 3.075 years and qualify for arbitration for the first time. He’s entrenched in the team’s plans and has three seasons of control remaining beyond the current year, so there’s no chance he’ll be considered a non-tender candidate, even if it’s possible he misses all of next year.
Subtracting Gray from the rotation outlook is a significant punch to the Nationals’ outlook over the next year-plus. With Patrick Corbin coming off the books and top prospect Cade Cavalli soon to return from his own Tommy John procedure, the Nats could look ahead to a 2025 rotation of Gray, Cavalli, MacKenzie Gore, breakout righty Jake Irvin and impressive rookie Mitchell Parker — to say nothing of any potential offseason additions to the pitching staff.
With Gray now on the shelf, that’ll only add further motivation for longtime baseball ops leader Mike Rizzo to add some rotation help in the winter (or perhaps to nab a near-MLB-ready arm at this month’s July 30 trade deadline). The Nationals aren’t quite done with their rebuilding effort — they traded Hunter Harvey last week and could well trade Kyle Finnegan, Jesse Winker and others before the deadline — but are in the final stages. James Wood, the sport’s No. 1 prospect per Baseball America, made his debut earlier this month. Gore, CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. have cemented themselves as core players this season. Last year’s No. 2 overall pick, Dylan Crews, should make his big league debut before long. Things are trending up, but the injury to Gray is a setback of some note that figures to factor into the organization’s offseason outlook.
Nationals Select Juan Yepez
July 5: The Nats have made it official, announcing that they have selected Yepez and transferred Gray to the 60-day IL.
July 4: The Nationals are planning to promote Juan Yepez, according to Andrew Golden of The Washington Post. The first baseman signed a minor league contract with the team this past December.
Yepez signed with the Braves as an international free agent in 2014, and three years later, the Braves traded him to the Cardinals in exchange for Matt Adams. Another five years after that, Yepez made his MLB debut with St. Louis in 2022, appearing in 76 games, hitting 12 home runs, and producing a 107 wRC+. He went 2-for-5 with another long ball in the playoffs, driving in two of the three runs the Cardinals managed to score against the Phillies in the Wild Card Series.
Despite his strong first impression, Yepez failed to make the Cardinals’ Opening Day roster in 2023. He hit poorly in spring training (60 wRC+), poorly at Triple-A (82 wRC+), and poorly during a few brief stints with the big league squad throughout the season (51 wRC+). St. Louis non-tendered him after the year.
The Nationals took a chance on Yepez this past winter, signing him to a minor league deal and issuing the 26-year-old an invitation to spring training. He did not make the major league roster out of camp, but the righty batter had a much better spring this time around, slashing .382/.405/.559 and striking out only once in 37 trips to the plate. His Triple-A stats aren’t quite as impressive, but he has continued to limit his strikeouts, and his numbers are much better across the board than they were last season. He has been hot over his last 14 games, going 21-for-54 (.389) with a 1.070 OPS and 178 wRC+.
Washington optioned first baseman/designated hitter Joey Meneses to Triple-A Rochester earlier today. Meneses has struggled all season, slashing .235/.294./.310 (72 wRC+), and evidently, the goodwill he earned with the Nationals during his breakout 2022 season has finally run out. He hit poorly last season as well (96 wRC+), but his numbers this season are significantly worse. Meneses ranks among the bottom five qualified hitters in OPS and wRC+.
Presumably, Yepez will see most of his playing time at first base. The Nationals will hope he can provide some of the right-handed thump they were looking to get from Meneses. With Joey Gallo on the injured list and Harold Ramírez hitting pretty much just as poorly as Meneses, Washington doesn’t have a ton of other options at first. Yepez also played the corner outfield with the Cardinals, but he has not played the outfield this year at Triple-A. More to the point, the Nationals don’t need any help in the outfield, with Lane Thomas, James Wood, Jacob Young, and Jesse Winker on the roster.
The Nationals did not immediately replace Meneses on the active roster, so there is an open spot for Yepez on the 26-man roster. However, the team will need to make a corresponding transaction to add Yepez to the 40-man. The most straightforward move would be to transfer Josiah Gray from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL. Gray has already missed significantly more than 60 days nursing an elbow injury.
Josiah Gray Headed For Further Testing With Elbow Discomfort
The Nationals are dealing with a worrisome situation regarding one of their top pitchers. Josiah Gray told reporters that he came out of his most recent rehab start with elbow discomfort and fatigue (X link via Andrew Golden of the Washington Post). He’ll head for additional testing. Manager Dave Martinez indicated they’ll hold off on that imaging until around the All-Star Break (relayed on X by The Post’s Spencer Nusbaum).
Gray has been on the injured list since the second week of the season. He went on the shelf on April 9 with what the team called a forearm strain. The right-hander has missed nearly three months but appeared to be nearing a return. He’d begun a rehab assignment on June 9 and has made five starts in the minors in recent weeks. Gray was likely ticketed for one final rehab outing next weekend before rejoining the MLB rotation.
Those plans are on hold as the Nats hope for encouraging test results. Even if testing doesn’t reveal any kind of structural damage, the club will assuredly be very cautious in building Gray’s throwing program back up. Gray likened the discomfort to the soreness he initially felt in April, raising the possibility of another extended absence.
This clearly hasn’t been the desired follow-up to the righty’s first All-Star season. Gray turned in a 3.91 earned run average while logging 159 innings (second on the team behind Patrick Corbin’s 180 frames) a year ago. While Gray’s production tailed off down the stretch, it was a generally encouraging season for the former top prospect.
The Nats have patched together a reasonably productive rotation despite absences to both Gray and Trevor Williams, who hasn’t pitched in over a month because of a muscle strain in his forearm. Washington ranks 12th with a 3.90 ERA from its starters. They’re in the bottom third of the league with a 21.3% strikeout rate but have generally shown decent control and done a solid job keeping the ball on the ground.
MacKenzie Gore has turned in a 3.47 ERA with a strong 27.2% strikeout rate in the best season of his young career. Jake Irvin and rookie Mitchell Parker have each managed an earned run average in the low-3.00s despite middling strikeout numbers. Parker, in particular, has shown surprisingly strong control after struggling with walks throughout his minor league days. DJ Herz, who stepped into the rotation since Williams went down, has been inconsistent but has flashed bat-missing ability through his first five MLB starts.
Corbin is on his way to his fourth consecutive season allowing more than five earned runs per nine. The veteran southpaw was better in June than he’d been through the first couple months, though he still posted a 4.71 ERA in 28 2/3 innings. His rotation spot might have been in jeopardy if Gray were healthy, but he figures to get a longer leash after the latter’s setback.
The Nationals have dropped seven of their last 10 and fallen towards the back of the group of mid-level teams in the National League. They’re 39-45, tied with the Reds and narrowly ahead of the Cubs but behind five teams for the NL’s last Wild Card spot.
While it doesn’t seem they’ll put themselves in position to acquire impactful rotation help at the deadline, they’ll at least have the opportunity to play their way into buying. They’re amidst a three-game series with the Mets. After that, they’ll take on the Cardinals, Mets, Brewers, Reds, Padres and St. Louis again before kicking off a set with the D-Backs heading into the deadline. Apart from Milwaukee, all those teams are jumbled in the Wild Card mix.