The Nationals will sign a lefty Foster Griffinreports Robert Murray of FanSided. It will be a one-year deal worth $5.5 million with an additional $1 million in incentives for client Excel Sports Management. The Nats have 40 vacancies and won’t need to make a corresponding move.
Griffin, now 30, saw brief major league action a few years ago. He made seven appearances, split between the Royals and Blue Jays, during the 2020 and 2022 seasons. He spent the last three years in Japan, pitching for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, with great success.
He pitched 315 2/3 innings over those three campaigns, allowing 2.57 earned runs per nine. He struck out 25.1% of the batters he faced, allowed walks to only 5.1% of opponents and kept about half of the balls in play on the ground. In 2025, a leg injury limited him to just 78 innings but it was his best season in terms of preventing runs. He posted a 1.62 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate, 5.9% walk rate and 48.9% groundout rate.
Despite the solid numbers, there are questions about whether his work will translate to North American ball. Griffin’s fastball only sits in the low 90s, pretty soft by modern standards. He succeeds with a full arsenal that also includes a slider, cutter, changeup, splitter, curveball and double crimper.
It’s been a relatively busy winter for guys returning to North America after stints abroad. Cody Ponce received $30 million over three years from the Blue Jays. The White Sox gave Anthony Kay $12 million over two years. Drew Anderson got one year and $7 million from the Tigers and Ryan Weiss got one year and $2.6 million from the Astros. All pitchers have had some success in Japan or South Korea, but the price differences are likely due to the product. Ponce is 6’6″ and 255 pounds with a fastball that averages in the upper 90s with a splitter/kick changeup that is considered a plus pitch. Griffin is not small, standing at 6’3″ and 225 pounds, but his profile as a crafty and smooth lefty is obviously different from Ponce’s.
It’s still an intriguing package. Recent reports have indicated that teams are showing interest in Griffin and that he is prioritizing the opportunity to prove himself in a rotation. Washington is a good landing point for him in this regard.
The Nats have been rebuilding for years but have struggled to get back into contention. The slow progress has led to major changes, with the club overhauling almost the entire front office and coaching staff in recent months. The new regime, led by president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, is expected to focus on long-term goals. They are one of the best-positioned clubs to take a chance on an unproven arm like Griffin.
Right now, Washington’s rotation is made up of guys like MacKenzie Gore, Cavalli Falls, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Griff McGarry, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and others. Gore is only two years removed from free agency and is expected to be traded this offseason. Cavalli and Gray haven’t pitched much in recent years due to Tommy John surgery. Lord has had decent results as a swingman in 2025. McGarry is a Rule 5 pick with no major league experience yet. Irvin and Parker have each logged over 300 innings in the big leagues, but they each posted an ERA close to 6.00 this year.
In short, there is very little locked in in Washington’s rotation, which means Griffin should have a chance to hold down a spot. If he succeeds over the first few months of the season, he will likely end up on the trading block, allowing the Nats to potentially bring back more young talent for their rebuild. If it doesn’t work out, it’s a pretty small gamble from the team’s perspective, even if it represents a huge amount of money for Griffin himself.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Raj Mehta, Imagn Images
