When the Nationals traded Trea Turner and Max Scherzer to the Dodgers, they received a package of four players that included two top prospects. One of the top prospects was catcher Keibert Ruiz who has gone on to establish himself as the number one option behind the plate for the foreseeable future this season. Ruiz was signed to an 8-year $50 million dollar extension in 2023.
The other top prospect they received was right-handed pitcher Josiah Gray. Gray was the prototype future ace of the staff when the Nats acquired him. He was the co-headliner in the deal for the Nationals who was supposed to be the face of the rebuild. Early on he showed promise as a rising star in the league. In only his second season he pitched to the tune of a 3.91 ERA and was an All-Star.
The Injuries
Unfortunately, a couple of injuries haven’t allowed him to play a ton of baseball since April 2024 with the major injury being Tommy John surgery.
It has been a long and winding road for Gray since that injury. He spent all of last season down at the spring training complex in West Palm Beach, Florida rehabbing trying to get ready for this season. He spoke about how hard it was having to be all by himself while his teammates went through the 2025 season.
He looked poised to return this season until he went down with a right flexor strain during spring training and had to be shut down again landing on the 60-day IL.
There have been rumblings about Gray returning this month. He is currently at Double-A Harrisburg appearing in a limited capacity. He himself said that he believes he can help solve part of the Nationals bullpen problems. I personally would love to see him log a couple of innings out of the pen. It would be a great feel-good story heading into the offseason.
The career similarities between Gray and Cavalli
Why I am comparing him to Cade Cavalli is not really hard to figure out when looking at both players' injury history and how highly touted they were as prospects.
Cavalli spent years being one of the Nats top prospects coming into spring training looking to compete for a spot in the rotation. And each time he would go down with an injury that would wipe out most of the season if not all the season.
Entering this season, he was finally healthy and finally ready to show why the Nationals had not given up on him. Cavalli has done more than that. Locking down the number one spot in the rotation and has become the definition of a true ace in my opinion: a stopper. Every fifth day you feel like the Nats have a great chance at winning with him toeing the bump.
Josiah Gray could very well be that next year. While there are certainly some significant differences in terms of the overall stuff of both pitchers, there are a lot of similarities to draw on. If everything goes according to plan, he will finally be healthy and will be looking to reclaim a spot in a rotation that is far from concrete. Thankfully he won’t have to look far for inspiration and a roadmap on how to do just that.
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