Former Nationals First-Round Pick Jackson Rutledge Departs MLB to Play Overseas

One of the Washington Nationals' former first-round draft picks has found a new home, and it's not within Major League Baseball.

According to Yuri Karasawa of Yakyu Cosmopolitan, Jackson Rutledge has signed a deal with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The No. 17 overall pick from the 2019 draft was officially introduced at a press conference for the team.

This is a bit of a surprising development in the career of Rutledge. While he certainly hasn't lived up to the billing of a first-round pick and former top prospect, there was hope as early as this season that the 27-year-old would be able to carve out a role for himself in the bigs.

That ultimately didn't happen, though. And now he's opted to continue his professional career overseas after he fizzled out in the states.

Jackson Rutledge Didn't Live Up to Hype

Washington Nationals pitcher Jackson Rutledge | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

It's safe to say that Rutledge didn't meet the expectations that were placed upon him as a prospect. Routinely ranked in the top five of Washington's pipeline -- peaking at No. 2 -- the right-hander was seen as a future frontline starter for the franchise. But after a shaky minor league career and an underwhelming major league one that culminated in his 5.77 ERA across 63 relief appearances in 2025, the writing was on the wall that Rutledge might have a limited future in the nation's capital.

And after a new regime came in that was led by president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera, he got one opportunity in the bigs this year where he allowed seven earned runs across 1 1/3 innings. Following that outing on April 13, Rutledge was sent back down to Triple-A, where he sat until he was designated for assignment on May 5.

That was the end of the road for the righty with the Nationals. The Philadelphia Phillies took a chance on him when they claimed him off waivers. He had a bumpy road with them, as he was DFA'd, released, then re-signed. But after dealing with some injuries, the 5.14 ERA across seven appearances Rutledge had with the Phillies' Triple-A affiliate caused them to release him on July 23.

Now, he'll be looking to get his career back on track by going overseas to see if he can become the latest pitcher to turn things around by making that move.

Jackson Rutledge Will Look to Become Reclamation Project

In the past, going to Japan or South Korea to play in those respective leagues was seen as the end of the road for competing in the MLB. However, many pitchers have been able to turn their careers around overseas and have become impactful arms whenever they returned to the United States.

The most recent example just suited up for the Nationals, as left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin was a standout in Japan for three years before he was signed by Washington this past winter. His revamped arsenal combined with his upgraded skillset helped him become an All-Star this season, which nobody saw coming when he inked his deal with the Nationals.

Rutledge will try to follow in that same mold. Whether that's as a starting pitcher or a reliever will be interesting to see. He was converted into a relief pitcher for Washington ahead of the 2025 season. But the Hawks might see him as a starter in their rotation after signing him to a contract.

If Rutledge can get things going again, it will be fascinating to see if he has his sights set on returning to Major League Baseball. But before that happens, he has to perform well. And he's getting an opportunity to do so in Japan.

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