The Washington Nationals have been relatively quiet this offseason, outside of trading their ace, Mackenzie Gore, to the Texas Rangers, which signaled a further step back for them in 2026.
Lacking depth in the starting rotation after trading Gore, the Nationals decided to spend a little on the free agent market to bring in a quality veteran, right-hander Miles Mikolas. According to MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato, Mikolas has agreed to a one-year deal with the Nationals, which gives them five full starters for their rotation.
Mikolas, 37, has pitched with the St. Louis Cardinals for the last seven seasons since returning from Japan (2018-25) and has two All-Star nominations under his belt (2018 and 2022). Mikolas has been one of the more durable starters since returning, making 30+ starts in six of the seven seasons with the Cardinals.
Nikolas went 8-11 with a 4.84 ERA in 31 starts and struck out 100 batters in 156.1 innings.