Nats sign veteran righty Mikolas to one-year deal

The Nationals have an agreement with 37-year-old Miles Mikolas, adding a much-needed workhorse to their rotation

Updated at 6:28 p.m.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Nationals have announced a one-year deal with veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas, bringing in some much-needed experience to a rotation that previously lacked it.

The signing, which was first reported by Yahoo Sports’ Jake Mintz, was made official this evening after Mikolas passed a physical. The 37-year-old is expected to be in camp Thursday.

The Nats were in the market for rotation help all winter, and their need for another proven arm only grew with last month’s trade of 2025 Opening Day starter MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers. The club entered spring training with a group of starters headlined by Cade Cavalli, Jake Irvin, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Mitchell Parker and Foster Griffin (their lone major-league free agent signing this offseason).

Like Griffin, Mikolas first made a name for himself pitching in Japan before enjoying sustained success in the majors. He became a mainstay in the Cardinals rotation since 2018, going 68-69 with a 4.16 ERA and 1.200 WHIP over 203 starts, proving himself one of the most durable pitchers in the sport.

Over the last four seasons, Mikolas has averaged 33 starts and 183 innings, production the Nationals could desperately use. At 37, he’s not the pitcher he once was, but he can provide much-needed innings and leadership for a young rotation.

President of baseball operations Paul Toboni suggested Tuesday the door remained open for the club to acquire one of the several veteran starters still available on the free-agent market.

“I don’t know if I can say there’s a reasonable chance, but I’ll tell you we’re actively looking at it,” Toboni said. “Whether we make a move or not, TBD. We’re keeping our options open here. And if we come across something we really like, great. And if not, we have a good group here.”

Needing to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Mikolas, the Nationals placed left-hander DJ Herz on the 60-day injured list. Herz had Tommy John surgery 10 months ago and was not expected to be ready to pitch in the big leagues prior to late-May anyways.