Former Yankees Reliever an Option for Nationals After They Declined His Club Option

The Washington Nationals should look into signing this reliever.

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The Washington Nationals need bullpen arms.

That should be the No. 1 priority of the front office, even above figuring out their first base situation. That's because they were the worst unit in baseball this past season in terms of ERA, and without many difference makers set to return or coming up the pipeline, addressing that clear weakness needs to happen in free agency.

Someone who is now an option for the Nationals is former New York Yankees right-handed reliever Jonathan Loaisiga. According to Jorge Castillo of ESPN, Loaisiga had his $5 million club option declined by the only big league team he's ever known, which now has him hitting the open market.

Nationals Should Look Into Jonathan Loaisiga

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There's no doubt the veteran has run into some troubles recently. He's only appeared in 50 total games from 2023-25, which matched his total in 2022 and was seven outings less than what he did in 2021.

That's because he underwent surgery to remove a bone spur in his right elbow during the 2023 campaign, which was followed by him undergoing Tommy John surgery to repair his torn UCL a year later.

Washington will have to do their due diligence on Loaisiga to see if he can turn back into the type of arm he was when he posted a 2.17 ERA and ERA+ of 199 in 2021. Because following that, the righty had a 4.13 ERA in 2022 and has dealt with those injuries since.

Still, these are the types of low-end flyers the Nationals should be taking on established relievers in free agency this cycle. They likely won't be at the top of the market for guys like Edwin Diaz or Robert Suarez, but with names like Loaisiga becoming available, that gives Washington more options.

Jonathan Loáisiga 🔥🍝 pic.twitter.com/VarKMJliwj

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 21, 2022

When at his best, Loaisiga pairs a nasty sinker with a devastating curveball and changeup. He used to reach 100 mph with his heater, and even coming off the two surgical procedures he had in back-to-back seasons, he averaged 96.8 mph with his sinker in 2025, which put him in the 86th percentile.

For the 31-year-old to be effective again, he has to get his strikeout rate back up to league average and reduce his walks. He'll also have to lower the barrel rate and hard hit rate that was unusually high against him this past season.

But with his market value sitting at $4.5 million, per Spotrac's projection, the Nationals should at least kick the tires to see if they believe he can become a bounce-back reliever in 2026. And if they do think that's the case, then he's someone they should sign.