Former Nationals Reliever Finds New Home After Electing to Become Free Agent

One of the Washington Nationals former relievers has found a new home.

Red Washington Nationals hat on top of black glove | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have a clear need in their bullpen.

Instead of addressing it through marquee free agency signings, the front office has opted to heavily use the waiver wire. So far, they have added multiple relief options who might stick on the roster heading into the upcoming season. However, they also lost someone who made 32 appearances for them last year.

As first reported by Jon Heyman of The New York Post, left-hander Konnor Pilkington signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Tigers. He'll also be invited to their big league camp, and per Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, Pilkington will be paid $1.2 million if he makes the MLB roster.

Konnor Pilkington, LHP, signs Tigers deal. Minors deal. Invite to MLB camp.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2026

Pilkington was designated for assignment by the Nationals after they claimed infielder Tsung-Che Cheng off waivers. And then after he cleared waivers, instead of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Rochester, he opted to become a free agent.

Pilkington was originally a third-round draft pick of the Chicago White Sox back in 2018. He was traded to the Cleveland Guardians ahead of the trade deadline in 2021, and that's the team he eventually made his major league debut with.

Originally a starter, the lefty posted a 3.88 ERA across 15 outings (11 starts) during the 2022 season. His ERA+ was just under the league average of 100 at 98, and he also struck out 50 batters in 58 innings pitched while walking 32.

Unfortunately for Pilkington, he struggled the following year. Despite pitching two scoreless innings in his one appearance for the Guardians, his issues at Triple-A caused Cleveland to designate him for assignment and eventually trade him to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He didn't appear in an MLB game during the 2024 campaign, and it wasn't until he was with Washington when he got another shot in the bigs.

How Loss of Konnor Pilkington Affects Nationals

Konnor Pilkington of the Washington Nationals | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

On the surface, this is a loss for the Nationals. After owning the worst bullpen ERA in the majors last season, the front office traded away their best reliever in left-hander Jose A. Ferrer. So to see someone like Pilkington depart the organization, that doesn't appear to bode well for this team.

However, some of the underlying metrics suggest the lefty got lucky last year. Despite ending the season with a 4.45 ERA, his expected ERA painted a much worse picture with that figure being 6.43. Perhaps that has something to do with him leaving 80.1% of runners on base, which is a great number, but also might not be sustainable year-over-year.

Still, Pilkington was able to ring up batters at a high clip. He had 34 strikeouts in 28 1/3 innings pitched, which was a 27.6% K rate that put him well above the league average mark. And even though he has a high walk rate that gets him into trouble, he can also get out of it with a punch out.

So, while the 28-year-old was not going to be a gamechanger for Washington by any means and actually might have regressed in 2026 compared to what he did last season, losing someone like him with major league experience does hurt the Nationals a bit as they try to piece together a bullpen.