How Trevor Williams Impacts Washington Nationals’ Starting Rotation
The Washington Nationals entered free agency with a rotation that looked like it would be one of the youngest in baseball. It will still have plenty of youth. But Trevor Williams and Michael Soroka give it some veteran ballast.
The Nationals hope to get out of a rut in 2025. They’ve won 71 games in each of the last two seasons. To do that, they’ll need better performances from their rotation. With these veterans, they now have options.
So who will fill out the five-man rotation for 2025 on opening day? Here’s what it could potentially look like.
LHP MacKenzie Gore
Gore has earned the right to take the ball on opening day. Entering his third full season in the Nationals’ rotation, he’s coming off a 10-12 campaign with a 3.90 ERA. There was improvement across the board, including 181 strikeouts, 65 walks and a career high 166.1 innings. He needs to work on that opponent batting average. It nudged up from .258 to .263 and has gone up each season since he made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Padres.
The 25-year-old will be seeking his first winning season as a starter. If he manages that, Washington has a much better chance of being a winning team.
RHP Trevor Williams
How manager Dave Martinez arranges the rotation may depend on whether he wants to alternate arm slots. But the 32-year-old right-hander would be a nice follow-up to Gore.
Last year’s record looks great — 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA in 13 starts, with 59 strikeouts and 18 walks and an opponent batting average of .218. The Nationals hope they’re getting something close to that, as Williams signed a two-year deal. Remaining healthy is a big piece of the puzzle.
RHP Jake Irvin
Irvin wrapped up his second full season with Washington with a 10-14 record and a 4.41 ERA. He struck out 156 and walked 52 while batters hit .244 off of him.
The ERA is worth watching. He needs to bring it under 4.00. He also gave up 29 home runs, a noticeable jump from 2023. He didn’t have a great finish to the season, but there’s plenty of arm talent there. This season he has the potential to jump from good to above-average.
RHP Michael Soroka
He went 0-10 with the White Sox last season. But, in 2019, he was a second-team All-MLB selection with Atlanta after he went 13-4 with a 2.68 ERA. Then he tore his Achilles and lost two seasons (he re-tore it during his rehab).
He believes he has the stuff to be a starter again. So does Washington. The Nationals didn’t take a $7 million flier on him to not make the rotation.
LHP DJ Herz
This is the toss-up. It could just as easily be Mitchell Parker. Both were rookies a season ago and both were under-.500 for the season. Herz was 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA in 19 games.
He finished the season on slightly better footing than Parker. He also struck out 106 against 36 walks and held opposing hitters to a .214 batting average. There’s a bit more life in that left arm. That will probably win the day — at least for the first few turns in the rotation.
