The second half struggles of the 2026 Washington Nationals have been documented a lot on this site over the last couple weeks. With the club continuing to free fall into a dark abyss, it all of a sudden will be a miracle if this team reaches 70 wins, a shocking downturn from a club that was in playoff contention not even 3 weeks ago.
Losing their top 4 hitters at different points of the year is a huge cog for this, as that top-scoring offense in MLB is almost nonexistent now without James Wood or CJ Abrams, but the pitching has continued to let them down too. The consistent pitching struggles are a big reason why the Nationals went out and grabbed a new arm off waivers with the team in search of answers.
Nationals claim knuckleballer Matt Waldron off waivers from Blue Jays
For one of the first times in a long time, the Nationals will have a knuckleballer pitching for them. On Saturday afternoon, the Nationals went out and claimed righty Matt Waldron, a veteran knuckleballer, off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Nationals fans might remember Waldron from his time with the San Diego Padres, where he did have some initial early success as a starter when he first came up.
Since 2024, however, things have been a struggle for Waldron as he has pitched to a negative WAR in 2 consecutive years. Still, due to the shortage of guys who feature the knuckleball as their first pitch, Waldron presents a very interesting project for the Nationals' pitching coaches. While they might not have succeeded with guys like Jake Irvin, Zack Littell, and Miles Mikolas as usable pitchers, perhaps they can find something with Waldron.
The 29-year-old has pitched primarily out of the bullpen this year across 14 appearances with both the Padres and Blue Jays, making 3 starts, and owns a 7.54 ERA and 1.622 WHIP. In other words, with ugly numbers like that, he will fit right in to a Nationals club that has rotated struggling pitchers all season long in search of a couple guys that can get at least a few outs.
Waldron's best year came in the 2024 season when he finished the season with a 7-11 record, 4.91 ERA, and 1.261 WHIP across 146.2 innings. He made 27 appearances that year with 26 starts, and held a 133:40 K:BB ratio, with his 8.2 K/9 being the best figure of his career so far. If the Nationals can get anything similar to that out of Waldron, it would be considered a major success.
What are your expectations for Matt Waldron as the team looks to close out the 2026 season on a high note? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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