10-Year Veteran Named Starting Pitching Fit for Nationals
In this story:
Paul Toboni has already started putting in some work on the Washington Nationals' roster.
After designating some players for assignment and outrighting others to Triple-A Rochester, there have been some notable departures that has freed up space on the 40-man roster. How the front office chooses to go about backfilling those openings will be interesting to see. But it's clear some major changes could be coming this winter.
One area that needs a bit of help is the starting rotation. If they decide to hold onto MacKenzie Gore, then adding a true No. 2 guy behind him would do this team wonders. And if they opt to ship out their ace, then they'll need someone established to take over that spot.
While signing someone like Dylan Cease is what everyone in this fanbase is hoping for, that doesn't seem likely. And that's why Thomas Carelli of District on Deck highlighted Zach Eflin as a realistic option the Nationals could land this winter.
"Given the Nationals payroll, they will look for a player priced much more cheaply. ... Eflin offers a moderately priced option with manageable expectations. He is a free agent and appears to command an AAV of $16 Million," he wrote.
Why Zach Eflin Would Be Good Fit With Nationals
Ideally, Eflin would be added as the No. 2 behind Gore. That would allow Josiah Gray to work back from his injury and Cade Cavalli to pitch more big league innings without the pressure of being a top-of-the-rotation arm just yet.
Eflin, a 10-year MLB veteran, has seen just about everything during his journey. He's gone from being the 33rd overall pick in the draft to being part of the return that replaced a beloved franchise legend to not living up to the hype to earning Cy Young votes and now having to produce a bounce-back season.
That is a great person to have in this young clubhouse, especially with a 33-year-old manager in place who has never even coached inside a major league dugout before. But beyond the outside factors, Eflin would also provide a major boost to this starting staff.
Zach Eflin, Dirty 87mph Changeup. 👌 pic.twitter.com/3RI4HjRMhv
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 11, 2025
While he struggled this season with his performance and health, he has been one of the most consistent starters across the majors the past few years. Before the 5.93 ERA he put up across 14 starts this campaign, he had recorded an ERA+ figure that was either at or above the league average of 100 in five out of his last six seasons.
Eflin has also consistently gotten unlucky throughout his big league career. While his cumulative ERA reads 4.28, his expected ERA is down at 3.85. That trend continued this year, where his xERA was at 4.53 compared to his actual mark of 5.93.
That signals some positive regression could be coming for the veteran, and it would be wise for the Nationals to have that happen in their uniform as they look to fill out a competent starting rotation.
More Nationals News
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai