I wonder if he has been fighting the tightness for a little bit which is why he hasn’t been pitching as well as he usually does? No matter what this is a huge loss for the bullpen.
Praise where it’s worthy, but nothing wrong with calling out what’s not. Overusing pitchers is not a small thing. And folks were calling out Martinez the same exact year he won a World Series. Sean Doolittle was pampered and coddled by the fans like he was the baseball savior.
The problem is we don’t know the whole story. Who is hurting, sore, not a good match up for private reasons. Hence my comment about giving grace when other things are positive within the team.
Expand ML active rosters permanently to 30 and the full roster to 50 (on second thought just do that for the Nats and leave everyone else where they are)
Hope he has a complete recovery and comes back strong so it doesn't linger the rest of the year. I also hope his replacement(s) are effective on the mound. BEAT THE yanks!
Tightness on his side. Oblique muscle? If so, we know how that one goes. Seaver King has it and I’m guessing we will not see him in DC this season, maybe not even as a September call up.
Guess this answers the question (unfortunately) from this morning’s podcast as to what role Nats will use Trevor Williams in when he comes back! I know he was a long man with the Mets too…
It’s been a tale of two Trevor’s with the Nats. In ‘23 and ‘25 your recollection is spot on, but in ‘24 his ERA was 2.03 and he gave up only 3 homers, much to everyone’s pleasant surprise. Let’s hope both the rehab and the coaching staff get the ‘24 version out of him…
I forgot his stats were that good back then, but definitely remember last year. If he is batting practice Williams- I just hope they pull the plug asap.
Jessica Camerato of MLB.COM has an article today about CJ. He has learned to be a fluent speaker in Spanish and that has enabled him to be a link to those players who have limited English fluency. I didn’t even know he spoke Spanish but it provides another behind insight on how CJ has become a team leader- the article makes clear that he is seen as a leader within the team. Just wanted to share and I should mention, it was Jessica Camerato’s article, not Spencer Nusbaum as I originally said.
His Spanish was very good when he joined the Nationals. IIRC he started learning to speak it in the minors. When he was called up he spoke to Louie only in Spanish. From there Louie started to improve on his English.
Edit: here’s an article by Andrew Golden from WaPo back in 2022. CJ took HS Spanish and was a serious learner
When the Washington Nationals’ infield met at the mound for a pitching change Friday, most of the players gathered there grew up in Spanish-speaking countries. Joey Meneses, a native of Mexico, was playing first base. Second baseman Luis García was born in New York but spent most of his childhood in the Dominican Republic. César Hernández, filling in at third, is from Venezuela.
They all shared the same first language — except for shortstop CJ Abrams, who is from Georgia. Over the years, though, Abrams has learned Spanish. So when he’s in the huddle, he’ll listen and occasionally join in with his teammates.
“I’m close to fluent, not perfect, but rookie ball helped a lot with the Padres, instructs, just talking with all of my teammates,” Abrams said.
He said his Spanish-speaking teammates make mistakes when speaking English, so he doesn’t feel any embarrassment when he makes errors in Spanish. Most notably, he and García — the Nationals’ future in the middle infield — have become close. They joke in the clubhouse in both languages, and García said Abrams understands Spanish well.
“Yeah, that feels good,” García said. “We play in the middle infield. We’re always talking in the middle of the game, and I speak English and he speaks perfect English. But he’ll speak in Spanish and I speak perfect Spanish. We’ll speak in whatever . . . we feel comfortable with.”
In a way, Abrams follows in the footsteps of Brian Dozier, a member of Washington’s 2019 World Series team, who learned Spanish during his playing career. The Mississippi native said it helped him bond with his teammates.
An angle to consider as we approach the trade deadline and decide whether to buy or sell: Nats can keep Griffin to the end of the season and try to sign him longer term, but if that fails, extend the Qualifying Offer to him in free agency and that would give the Nats another draft pick when he signs elsewhere. So not trading him at the deadline is not a total loss if he departs in free agency.
That makes the decision for me as imaginary GM, assuming the Nats are still in the playoff race at that point.
However, the cost of a Qualifying Offer for 2026 is $22 Million for a one-year extension. Is he worth that much? There’s also the potential lockout scenario next year. I believe during a lockout the contract term would still continue to run toward expiration (it is not paused), but no salary is paid during the lockout, so there’s no financial loss to the team—only to the player.
They discussed the possibilities for Griffin on yesterday's podcast. They point towards trying to extend him now in season but we know that's a relative rarity in MLB (and for the Nats).
Offhand, I'd say say that the QO is too much money. I like the thinking as an option not mentioned on the pod but for his age and lack of MLB track record I wouldn't do it.
Assuming his performance is not a mirage and he performs similarly next season, if he were to stay on a QO he could still be traded the next trade deadline. So we get the prospect haul next season instead of this season. That’s the rosy outlook. But if he continues to pitch like this to the end of the season, I predict he’ll get a 3-year offer worth $15 M/year or so or better, and he’ll take it over $22M for one year, and teams will pay the draft pick. My opinion, it’s a low risk he stays on a QO. But if he does, again, trade him next year (assuming no lockout cancels the postseason).
And...just like that, a mention of Griffin in the usual pre-trade deadline chatter.
Foster Griffin, LHP, Nationals
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
"Like the Marlins, the Nationals are ahead of schedule, contending for a Wild Card spot in the first year under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Washington appears unlikely to trade away controllable core players such as CJ Abrams, but Griffin -- who signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Nats after spending the past three seasons in Japan -- could be the ultimate risk-reward signing.
The 30-year-old lefty is 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 19 starts, but he’s due to become a free agent after the season, so unless the Nationals expect to sign him to a long-term deal, flipping him for young, controllable players could be the right move even if they’re in contention for a postseason berth."
Oof.. not good
Scary. Offense better be ready to put up 25 runs a night. 😂
My first thought! And that may not be enough!
OK! I'll call for it!!
I wonder if he has been fighting the tightness for a little bit which is why he hasn’t been pitching as well as he usually does? No matter what this is a huge loss for the bullpen.
And overuse.
They are all overused bc our starters can't go very many innings. Dominoes!
Agreed, except for Foster Griffin who seems to be able to go 7 quality innings consistently. It’s definitely frustrating.
Davey Martinez would’ve been crucified already but this staff mysteriously gets a pass on it.
You're right. Weird, huh?
I think he earned a pass because the rest of the team has improved under his leadership.
Praise where it’s worthy, but nothing wrong with calling out what’s not. Overusing pitchers is not a small thing. And folks were calling out Martinez the same exact year he won a World Series. Sean Doolittle was pampered and coddled by the fans like he was the baseball savior.
The problem is we don’t know the whole story. Who is hurting, sore, not a good match up for private reasons. Hence my comment about giving grace when other things are positive within the team.
Oh, Lord. 😩
I do wonder if this (partially) explains his recent struggles.
Each team needs a couple dozen pitchers.
Expand ML active rosters permanently to 30 and the full roster to 50 (on second thought just do that for the Nats and leave everyone else where they are)
Hope he has a complete recovery and comes back strong so it doesn't linger the rest of the year. I also hope his replacement(s) are effective on the mound. BEAT THE yanks!
That's a bummer for him.
Tightness on his side. Oblique muscle? If so, we know how that one goes. Seaver King has it and I’m guessing we will not see him in DC this season, maybe not even as a September call up.
Guess this answers the question (unfortunately) from this morning’s podcast as to what role Nats will use Trevor Williams in when he comes back! I know he was a long man with the Mets too…
I suppose they need to give Williams a try, but not optimistic about a positive impact. My memory of him is giving up home runs.
It’s been a tale of two Trevor’s with the Nats. In ‘23 and ‘25 your recollection is spot on, but in ‘24 his ERA was 2.03 and he gave up only 3 homers, much to everyone’s pleasant surprise. Let’s hope both the rehab and the coaching staff get the ‘24 version out of him…
I forgot his stats were that good back then, but definitely remember last year. If he is batting practice Williams- I just hope they pull the plug asap.
Hope Brad and Jake come back soon
And Josh Gray and trades are made
Contreras' suspension reduced to 5 games after appeal, begins Thursday: https://www.mlb.com/news/willson-contreras-suspension-reduced
No comment.
Just more evidence of the old adage: "You can never have too much pitching."
Oof!
I never thought I'd say these words, but How soon till Trevor Williams is available to pitch?
Jessica Camerato of MLB.COM has an article today about CJ. He has learned to be a fluent speaker in Spanish and that has enabled him to be a link to those players who have limited English fluency. I didn’t even know he spoke Spanish but it provides another behind insight on how CJ has become a team leader- the article makes clear that he is seen as a leader within the team. Just wanted to share and I should mention, it was Jessica Camerato’s article, not Spencer Nusbaum as I originally said.
Wow. He has really grown over the past two seasons!
His Spanish was very good when he joined the Nationals. IIRC he started learning to speak it in the minors. When he was called up he spoke to Louie only in Spanish. From there Louie started to improve on his English.
Edit: here’s an article by Andrew Golden from WaPo back in 2022. CJ took HS Spanish and was a serious learner
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/09/13/cj-abrams-spanish-nationals/
When the Washington Nationals’ infield met at the mound for a pitching change Friday, most of the players gathered there grew up in Spanish-speaking countries. Joey Meneses, a native of Mexico, was playing first base. Second baseman Luis García was born in New York but spent most of his childhood in the Dominican Republic. César Hernández, filling in at third, is from Venezuela.
They all shared the same first language — except for shortstop CJ Abrams, who is from Georgia. Over the years, though, Abrams has learned Spanish. So when he’s in the huddle, he’ll listen and occasionally join in with his teammates.
“I’m close to fluent, not perfect, but rookie ball helped a lot with the Padres, instructs, just talking with all of my teammates,” Abrams said.
He said his Spanish-speaking teammates make mistakes when speaking English, so he doesn’t feel any embarrassment when he makes errors in Spanish. Most notably, he and García — the Nationals’ future in the middle infield — have become close. They joke in the clubhouse in both languages, and García said Abrams understands Spanish well.
“Yeah, that feels good,” García said. “We play in the middle infield. We’re always talking in the middle of the game, and I speak English and he speaks perfect English. But he’ll speak in Spanish and I speak perfect Spanish. We’ll speak in whatever . . . we feel comfortable with.”
In a way, Abrams follows in the footsteps of Brian Dozier, a member of Washington’s 2019 World Series team, who learned Spanish during his playing career. The Mississippi native said it helped him bond with his teammates.
Nats should sign Anthony Fauci for the pen. He knows how to flatten the curve.
Series preview:
New York Yankees (51-42) versus the Washington Nationals (48-46)
Friday @6:45: Ryan Weathers LHP (3-7, 4.29 ERA) versus Carson Palmquist LHP (0-1, 7.11 ERA) He's likely opening for Littell.
Saturday @4:05: Cam Schlittler RHP (9-5, 2.01 ERA) versus Miles Mikolas RHP (3-7, 5.78 ERA)
Sunday @1:35: Will Warren RHP (7-4, 4.15 ERA) versus Cade Cavalli RHP (5-4, 3.88 ERA)
An angle to consider as we approach the trade deadline and decide whether to buy or sell: Nats can keep Griffin to the end of the season and try to sign him longer term, but if that fails, extend the Qualifying Offer to him in free agency and that would give the Nats another draft pick when he signs elsewhere. So not trading him at the deadline is not a total loss if he departs in free agency.
That makes the decision for me as imaginary GM, assuming the Nats are still in the playoff race at that point.
However, the cost of a Qualifying Offer for 2026 is $22 Million for a one-year extension. Is he worth that much? There’s also the potential lockout scenario next year. I believe during a lockout the contract term would still continue to run toward expiration (it is not paused), but no salary is paid during the lockout, so there’s no financial loss to the team—only to the player.
That is a tough decision, but I decided to go with the QO anyhow.
They discussed the possibilities for Griffin on yesterday's podcast. They point towards trying to extend him now in season but we know that's a relative rarity in MLB (and for the Nats).
Offhand, I'd say say that the QO is too much money. I like the thinking as an option not mentioned on the pod but for his age and lack of MLB track record I wouldn't do it.
Assuming his performance is not a mirage and he performs similarly next season, if he were to stay on a QO he could still be traded the next trade deadline. So we get the prospect haul next season instead of this season. That’s the rosy outlook. But if he continues to pitch like this to the end of the season, I predict he’ll get a 3-year offer worth $15 M/year or so or better, and he’ll take it over $22M for one year, and teams will pay the draft pick. My opinion, it’s a low risk he stays on a QO. But if he does, again, trade him next year (assuming no lockout cancels the postseason).
I get it. Good, creative thinking.
And...just like that, a mention of Griffin in the usual pre-trade deadline chatter.
Foster Griffin, LHP, Nationals
Contract status: Free agent after the 2026 season
"Like the Marlins, the Nationals are ahead of schedule, contending for a Wild Card spot in the first year under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Washington appears unlikely to trade away controllable core players such as CJ Abrams, but Griffin -- who signed a one-year, $5.5 million deal with the Nats after spending the past three seasons in Japan -- could be the ultimate risk-reward signing.
The 30-year-old lefty is 10-2 with a 2.77 ERA in 19 starts, but he’s due to become a free agent after the season, so unless the Nationals expect to sign him to a long-term deal, flipping him for young, controllable players could be the right move even if they’re in contention for a postseason berth."
Seems like every good player the Nats have is tradable. At what point do they keep good players and build on them?