Nationals Rookie Pitcher Brad Lord Says He's Firmly Back In 'Starter Mode'

This Washington Nationals rookie believes he's finally regained the his form as a starter after spending much of the season in the bullpen.

May 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Brad Lord against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

One of the main pitfalls of the Washington Nationals this season has been the woeful performance of their starting rotation throughout the entire campaign.

Outside of MacKenzie Gore, the Nationals have been scrambling to find anybody who could provide any consistency from the other four rotation slots, and this search has only intensified following last week's trade deadline, where veteran right-hander Michael Soroka was shipped off.

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One guy Washington has been turning to in order to fill the ever growing need for starting pitching has been 25-year-old rookie right-hander Brad Lord.

Jul 22, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Brad Lord (61) throws to the Cincinnati Reds during the second inning at Nationals Park. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

How Brad Lord Has Boosted Nationals Rotation

A 2022 mid-round draft selection by the Nats, Lord had entered Spring Training in a starter role, but was quickly transitioned to the bullpen.

Injuries forced the team to move him back into the rotation a couple of times in the first half, and he has now officially transitioned back into a full-time starter following the recent roster turnover.

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Switching roles from reliever to starter isn't something that happens overnight, though, and it can take a player a few games to become fully adjusted to the increased pitch counts required to be an effective starter.

Lord has been undergoing this acclimation period over his last three starts, and touched 90 pitches for the first time on Sunday against the Milwaukee Brewers, where he went 4 2/3 innings in which he gave up three runs while striking out six batters.

While the final line Lord put together against one of the hottest teams in baseball was far from perfect, the righty told MLB.com's Jessica Camerato after the game that he finally feels like he's back in "starter mode."

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“I would definitely say the throwing going into the sixth inning and then now being able to get up to 90 pitches again, I feel like it’s like, ‘All right, I’m back full-go,’” Lord said. “It’s good for building the amount of pitches I can throw and building innings. I still felt good. I wasn’t really tired, and so it’s a promising sign.”

If Lord can find a way to maintain his form for the remainder of the year for Washington, it will not only serve as a much needed boost to an already depleted pitching staff, but it could also end up nabbing him a spot in the rotation for 2026 as well.

As such, it will be extremely interesting to see how Lord manages to perform over the remained of the campaign, and what effect that performance ends up having on his career moving forward.

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