Nationals Have Glaring Rotation Issue with Two Players at Bottom of Key Statistic
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The Washington Nationals have received a lot of disappointing performances throughout the 2025 MLB regular season that should lead to some major changes occurring this offseason.
Arguably, the most disappointing development has to be on the mound. All of their veteran offseason additions in the bullpen backfired. Lucas Sims, Jorge Lopez and Colin Poche were all released in the first half of the season after disastrous stints with the franchise. Several winnable games were blown because of their underwhelming performances.
However, there have been some improvements in the bullpen as the season has gone along. Jose A. Ferrer has improved steadily. Cole Henry looks the part of a long-term building block for the relief staff as well. Alas, a lot of help is going to be needed on this part of the roster moving forward.
Unfortunately, it isn’t only the bullpen that has emerging issues. The starting rotation looks to be in some trouble as well. MacKenzie Gore landed on the injured list recently but his performance has steadily fallen off as the season has moved along. An All-Star for the first time in his career, he had a 3.02 ERA in the first half but registered an ugly 7.54 in the second half.
Nationals Starting Pitcher Duo Providing Bottom-Barrel Production
That has resulted in a season-long ERA of 4.15, which is much better than what his teammates have provided. Two pitchers the Nationals were hoping would take steps forward this year have regressed. It is time to wonder whether Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker are long-term answers in the rotation.
Both have performed poorly throughout the campaign. As shared by Thomas Nestico on X, they are ranked last and second to last amongst qualified pitchers in ERA this season. Parker is at the bottom with a 5.87 ERA while Irvin is just ahead of him with a 5.71 mark.
MLB Worst ERA pic.twitter.com/LsCyWTA7fs
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) September 7, 2025
The only positive impact that duo has made is that they have proven to be durable. They don’t miss turns in the rotation, with Irvin tied for the MLB lead making 29 starts thus far. Parker is at 28 and counting. The results just haven’t been there.
Along with their awful ERA numbers, Irvin leads the MLB with 100 earned runs allowed. The long ball has hurt him, surrendering a National League-high 33 home runs. Parker currently has the most losses in the MLB with 15. Both have negative bWAR numbers as well, with Irvin at -0.1 and Parker sitting at -1.3.
That is not going to cut it and their spots in the rotation could be up for grabs next spring. Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray could factor into the mix if they can prove their health. Andrew Alvarez has a chance to make an impression down the stretch. DJ Herz might be back in the mix after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this year as well, along with whatever offseason additions are made.
