Since Paul Toboni took over as the President of Baseball Operations for the Washington Nationals, the team has been focused on changing a lot of thought processes that existed under the previous regime. Things like player development have been emphasized a ton, as have updating certain ideologies under the new era.
The Nationals were in dire need of a new voice at the helm, and Toboni has more than accomplished a ton of good in his first year. While Mike Rizzo should certainly be celebrated for all that he achieved during his tenure with the franchise, there is no doubt that he made some questionable choices after the team's World Series win in 2019, with one player reaching the end of his tenure late yesterday.
Trevor Williams DFA'd by Nationals after reaching 10 years of service time
Perhaps the most head-scratching move Rizzo made during the 2020s before his firing was to give Trevor Williams a multi-year contract. Seemingly only bidding against themselves, Rizzo gave him $14M on a 2-year deal following his rock solid 2024 season, and coincidentally enough, he still owns the distinction of having signed the last multi-year deal handed out by the Nationals.
As of yesterday, the Nationals decided to designate Williams for assignment seemingly out of nowhere, and he will now be in search of his next club and opportunity. Given that he actually performed decently out of the bullpen since returning from injury with a 2.65 ERA and 1.235 WHIP, it came as a bit of a shock that the team chose to let him go now instead of waiting until the end of the season.
However, given the fact that despite Williams' 22 strikeouts in 17.0 innings so far this year seems more like an outlier rather than a new development, the Nationals chose to do right by Williams and will give him ample time to latch on with a contending club. The Nationals clearly felt as if Williams, who is now 34 years old, doesn't throw extremely hard, and doesn't have overwhelming stuff was not going to be part of the long-term future, so the team felt they should give other guys a look in his spot.
Additionally, they chose to wait to DFA him until after he crossed the 10 years of service time, similar to the way they waited for Miles Mikolas before letting him go as well. Taking care of veteran players in that way will not go unnoticed by potential free agents, and has been a very classy theme by Toboni and the front office so far.
With his Nationals tenure officially complete, Williams appeared in 68 games for the Nationals, making 60 starts, with all 8 of his bullpen outings coming in the 2026 season. He compiled a 15-21 record, 4.81 ERA and 1.442 WHIP, and also made about $27M across a pair of 2-year contracts signed with the team.
What do you think the future holds for Trevor Williams outside of Washington? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google