The Washington Nationals continued rolling on in 2026 spring training on Monday afternoon as they played the Houston Astros tight. Of course, if you could not tell by the cover image and title of this article, the main storyline of the game on Monday was the fact that 2023 All-Star righty Josiah Gray made his long-awaited return to a pitching mound.
Gray, who had Tommy John Surgery that has kept him out since April of 2024, had been working through vigorous rehab since the end of last season, and finally got back to facing major league hitters. For his part, he fared pretty well in action, and it had to be pretty awesome moment for his personally to finally make it back.
When he initially went down, Gray had been adamant that his goal was to return to a big league mound by the end of the 2025 season, but the timing just never quite lined up. For a team that desperately needs quality starting pitching, Gray has a golden opportunity ahead of him throughout the rest of spring training.
Outside of Cade Cavalli, there are not a lot of intriguing arms vying for rotation spots for the Nationals. Sure, there are guys like Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker, among others, but for the most part, we know what they are and what to expect at this point. Gray is somewhat of a known commodity at this point, but also could be a major beneficiary from new coaching and the time off as well.
Gray's final line on Monday was 1.2 innings while scattering 2 hits for just 1 earned run, while striking out 3 and walking none. As I wrote yesterday, limiting the free passes will be key for Gray to reestablish himself as a big leaguer and to really take that next step as a pitcher. For the game, the Nationals ended up tying the Astros 3-3, in large part due to Brady House.
There will be more independent articles we write about Brady House, but his performance in spring training so far has to have Nationals fans excited. Hopefully for the young Nationals, getting a veteran arm like Gray back in the rotation will help the club win even a few more games, but for now we will just have to wait and see.
What did you think of Josiah Gray's triumphant return to the mound for the Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.