The offseason for the Washington Nationals to this point, especially recently, has felt a lot like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic. In terms of the team overall, basically every fan is hoping that the club still has another meaningful signing or two left, but it appears as if time is running out.
That feeling is primarily because pitchers and catchers are reporting in just a few days, however a solid amount of solid big league talent is still out there and could potentially be had for the Nationals. Whether or not they can convince any veteran to take either a cheap or short-term deal remains to be seen, and many free agents might just want to wait it out and wait for a competitive team to get desperate.
That is likely part of the reason why new President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and the rest of the Nationals' front office have been busy rotating names at the end of the 40-man roster. Just in the past couple weeks alone, the team has been busy claiming and waiving guys left and right, and now another name just became yet another name to fall into that bucket.
Just days after claiming righty reliever Jorge Soriano off waivers from the division rival Miami Marlins, the Nationals sent him packing and ended up claiming lefty pitcher Ken Waldichuk off waivers from the Athletics. If that name sounds familiar, he was one of the centerpieces in the Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino deal to the New York Yankees back in 2022
He has not quite yet put it all together in recognizing his talent, but perhaps the 28-year-old lefty will be able to figure things out with the Nationals. To this point, Waldichuk owns a 5.28 ERA, 1.491 WHIP, and a 165:81 K:BB ratio across 175.2 innings. He has started 29 of 42 career games in the majors, but has not made an appearance at the highest level since 2023 with Oakland.
Waldichuk missed all of the 2024 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, and spent the remainder of 2025 after he returned down in the minors trying to regain his form. The claim by the Nationals for the lefty is an interesting one, and if he can find the form that once made him a coveted trade asset, he could end up being a steal as a late bloomer for the Nationals. Worst case, he will be some valuable minor league depth with a chance to get back to the majors later on this season.
What do you think of the Nationals claiming Ken Waldichuk as a potential relief option? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.