Nationals Reportedly Option Struggling Starting Pitcher After Poor Start
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The Washington Nationals suffered a tough loss on Saturday against the Milwaukee Brewers despite holding a lead late.
It has been a frustrating season for the Nationals, and their most recent loss against the Brewers only exemplified that. Despite having a lead in the ninth inning, closer Kyle Finnegan was unable to shut the door on Milwaukee, allowing three runs in the loss.
As shown by the franchise recently clearing house, it is a bit of a mess in Washington at the moment.
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After the game, the team reportedly elected to make a roster move regarding their starter from Saturday, Shinnosuke Ogasawara.
Bobby Blanco of MASN reported the Nationals decided to option the Japanese international back down to Triple-A after two poor starts in the Majors.
The Nationals just optioned Shinnosuke Ogasawara to Triple-A Rochester. So he will not be staying in the rotation.
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) July 13, 2025
I asked Miguel Cairo about the lefty’s future in the rotation after the All-Star break and he was non-committal.
Ogasawara was a historic signing by Washington over the winter, but the results in the Majors so far haven’t been very good.
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In two starts against the Brewers and the Boston Red Sox, he has totaled a 9.45 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in 6.2 innings pitched.
Even though the sample size was small in Triple-A, he didn’t pitch particularly well there either. After two poor starts in the bigs, sending him back down to hopefully gain some confidence and improve is the right decision for the Nationals to make.
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Aside from MacKenzie Gore, this is a rotation that isn’t very good with even Jake Irvin starting to see his ERA creep closer to 5.00.
As Washington heads toward being 20 games under .500, it’s no secret they will be sellers. However, there aren’t too many valuable assets they will be able to offer by the deadline.
For more Nationals news, head over to Nationals On SI.
Nick Ziegler is an alumnus of the Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has been working in sports media covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL for nearly a decade with various publications online. With his free time, Nick enjoys being at the Jersey Shore with his wife, daughter, and their golden retriever. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @NickZiegler20.