Later today, the Washington Nationals will take on the St. Louis Cardinals to kick off a 3-game series that could loom large for a Nationals club looking to get over the 71-win mark for the first time since 2019. With just a single victory this weekend, the Nationals will actually achieve this, and it will be a feather in the cap for the new regime led by Paul Toboni and Blake Butera.
Both of them have done a ton of good things in their first years with the team, and by the time this piece drops, there very well could be an extension done with breakout ace Cade Cavalli, who has truly ascended to becoming the ace of this team's staff. I will have more to come on this later while we wait for things to cross the finish line.
Cavalli has dealt with tons of injury struggles in his professional career so far, but has persevered and become the best pitcher on the team. He can serve as a perfect example for another starting pitcher who is finally just now getting back from an injury of his own.
Nationals return Josiah Gray from 60-day IL for first outings since 2024
Josiah Gray was once the co-headliner in a massive trade deadline deal along with Keibert Ruiz coming over from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Since coming to Washington, Gray has had a lot of ups and downs, from being an All-Star to not being medically able to pitch for several years. However, the tide has finally begun to turn for the 28-year-old righty.
He has been reinstated from the 60-day Injured List as of yesterday, and the Nationals optioned outfielder Andrew Pinckney back to AAA Rochester as the corresponding move. Since undergoing Tommy John surgery back in July of 2024, the journey back to the majors has been a pretty wild one for Gray.
After having the surgery, he then was close to coming back to end last season, but things ended up not panning out for him to get to this point before the 2025 season ended. He suffered a right flexor strain during spring training earlier this year, and had been working to rehab that as well once this season began, given that this is what landed him on the 60-day IL in the first place.
Over the last several weeks, Gray has been building his stamina back up to contribute as a reliever, and that is where he will end up for the rest of the 2026 season to preserve his arm health at this point. He likely will be introduced in lower leverage spots similar to how the team tried to introduce Max Kranick, and Butera will need to be smart at managing his pitch count. Nonetheless, it is absolutely amazing for Josiah to be back out there, and it will even help give fans another reason to keep watching these final games.
What are your expectations for Josiah Gray as he makes his first outings at the MLB level since 2024? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.
Add us as a preferred source on Google