Nationals Introduce New Technology That Should Help Prevent Pitching Injuries

Some technology is being used by the Washington Nationals in spring training.

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

One of the major storylines that took place this offseason was the overhaul the Washington Nationals made when it came to their baseball operations department.

After firing longtime general manager Mike Rizzo in the middle of the 2025 campaign, owner Mark Lerner and the other decision makers decided to hire then-35-year-old Paul Toboni to become the team's new president of baseball operations. That led to a youth movement in the front office and coaching staff. And it's one that has brought a major change to how the Nationals think about and approach the sport.

The most recent evidence of that were these mysterious black armbands that many players were wearing during spring training, including left-handed pitcher DJ Herz who is making his way back from Tommy John surgery.

DJ Herz (recovering from Tommy John) has the black elbow band on, and is getting some work in this morning. pic.twitter.com/1llbUYS5G1

— Ryan Shenker (@RyanShenker) February 18, 2026

Well, Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball did some investigating into what those bands are. And he discovered they are a Pulse workload monitor -- made by Driveline Baseball -- that measures arm speed and workload metrics.

Driveline is a company founded in 2007 that came to fame about a decade later. They are mainly focused on research and development, and they stated that their mission is to "develop the future of baseball training by finding industry-leading insights."

Under Toboni, Washington has hired a number of employees from that academy, so it shouldn't be a shock to see them use a technology device made by Driveline. However, in the past, this hasn't been a franchise that embraced the modern era of baseball, so seeing this change is a huge plus.

How This Technology Can Help Nationals Pitchers

Washington Nationals prospect Sean Paul Linan | Reinhold Matay-Imagn Images

First, it gives them a chance to fight off the pitching injuries that have ravaged the sport of baseball. The Nationals are no stranger to many of their best arms going down with long-term elbow injuries, so implementing a tool that can help them avoid that the best they can hopefully will counteract what has previously transpired.

Pulse will show a reduction of speed when a pitcher is throwing, letting everyone know when it's time for them to take a break instead of continuing to put stress on the arm and elbow. When trying to add overall "stuff" to different pitchers' repertoires -- like Washington is attempting to do -- this tech should help them avoid potential injuries.

The Nationals have also introduced Pulse to their minor leaguers. As they come up the ranks and start tinkering with different things, it's even more important to measure what those players are doing to their throwing arms.

#Nationals 2025 3rd round pick Landon Harmon, 19, is throwing absolute gas for strikes this morning. pic.twitter.com/5o0mDWJIUh

— Ryan Shenker (@RyanShenker) February 17, 2026

It's hard to say for certain that the likes of Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Herz and star pitching prospect Travis Sykora would have avoided their UCL injuries that caused them all to undergo Tommy John surgery if they had these Pulse bands. But it's something to think about, especially because these injuries have impacted -- or will impact -- Washington's pitching staff negatively.

Hopefully this new technology can help the Nationals pitching staff and their young prospects remain healthy, as that would be a gamechanger for this franchise going forward.