Nationals Reportedly 'Don't Feel Any Urgency' To Have Injured Starter Pitch in 2025

An important part of the Washington Nationals future might not return this year at all.

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The Washington Nationals have about two-and-a-half months remaining in a season that didn't turn out the way anyone had hoped entering the year.

Coming off two straight 71-win campaigns, the vision was for this group to take the next step with the emergence of their young stars and former top prospects in coordination with the veterans that were brought in to buoy this roster.

But none of that took place. While there have been bright spots with James Wood and MacKenzie Gore earning their first All-Star Game nods and CJ Abrams following up his successful 2024 showing with another solid season this year, the Nationals could finish with the second-lowest win total they've had since undergoing this rebuilding process.

All that remains for Washington the rest of the way is to further evaluate players to see who can become the franchise cornerstones they desperately need. And that is more important than ever in their starting rotation.

Nationals Won't Rush Josiah Gray Back This Season

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The Nationals could use a six-man rotation for the remainder of the year now that Gore is back from the injured list, which is something they should do considering they can't point to anyone outside of Gore right now and say they are long-term starting options for this team going forward.

Evaluations need to be done on everybody, so collecting as much data as possible is important. That's why the update from Mark Zuckerman of MASN regarding Josiah Gray is notable, with the insider now stating there's a chance the right-hander might not return to the big league mound this season after all.

"Josiah Gray is healthy again and pitching in competitive games again, which is great ... They are taking it start by start and seeing how Gray feels after each one. And they don't feel any urgency to get him into a big league game now; they'd be perfectly content having him go into the offseason healthy and gear up for spring training," he reported.

Josiah Gray. 5 K. 3 innings.

👀👀👀👀, yaknow? pic.twitter.com/QydmgNKXUH

— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) March 2, 2024

It's hard to blame Washington for that approach. They have lost tons of arms to elbow surgeries in recent years, and that has put them behind schedule when it comes to fielding a respectable rotation. But at some point, the Nationals have to figure out if Gray can be a guy for them or not.

He was solid in 2023 with a 3.91 ERA across 30 starts, but that also came after 40 combined starts in 2021 and 2022 where he had a 5.11 ERA. And after such a long layoff, it's hard to predict how he's going to look when he returns to the major league mound.

While one start to close out this season wouldn't determine anything one way or another, getting him back for an MLB game prior to heading into the 2026 campaign seems like it would be a preferred course of action if he's healthy.

Hopefully Gray is able to make his big league return at some point this year, which still could happen if everything goes well during his continued rehab starts.