After getting spanked in their first game of the series against the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday night, it appeared as if Paul Toboni had seen enough. While the Nationals had made a couple reported moves over the weekend, one of them became official on Tuesday evening.
That move was to ink righty Max Kranick, formerly of the New York Mets, to a 1-year deal with a team option for 2027. The deal in itself is an interesting one, as the Nationals have continued to seek out answers for their bullpen, which has been lackluster as a lot of their better arms deal with injuries like Clayton Beeter and Cole Henry.
Kranick is an interesting pitcher, as he is a guy who has dealt with a lot of trials and tribulations throughout his career. After breaking into the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2021, he underwent Tommy John Surgery in 2022 and did not make it back to the big leagues until 2025 with the New York Mets.
His numbers have been solid in his career, but he remained unsigned to this point due to not having elite swing-and-miss stuff and the fact that he is coming off another elbow procedure. It is not believed to be as serious as his initial operation back in 2022, but the Nationals did place him on the 15-day injured list while he recovers and builds himself back up.
Back in 2025, Kranick pitched well for the Mets, appearing in 24 games overall and pitching to a 3.65 ERA and 1.054 WHIP in 37.0 innings. As I mentioned above, Kranick only struck out 25 batters during that year, but he helped prove his value by only issuing 5 walks. His 3.95 FIP indicates he is close to an above-average pitcher, and the Nationals need as many of those as they can get.
It remains unclear when Kranick will make his debut for the Nationals, as it seems likely he will need to mix in some appearances down in the minors before Blake Butera and Paul Toboni can truly trust him to pitch well in the majors again. It also remains unclear if the Nationals will plan to use him as a starter or reliever, but whichever route they choose, Kranick should be a valuable asset to this team.
What do you think of the Nationals signing righty Max Kranick? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
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