When Paul Toboni sent Foster Griffin to the Guardians, the return didn’t exactly jump off the page. It looked light on headline prospects and heavy on volume. But the deal has started to look a lot better because Will Dion has settled in as a useful arm for the Nationals.
Dion carved out a real role after arriving in Washington, and it was the kind of job that matters more and more across Major League Baseball: the multi-inning relief assignment. That profile isn’t flashy, but it has become a weapon, especially in a postseason where the Brewers leaned on their bullpen all the way to a championship. Aaron Ashby and DL Hall were among the arms asked to cover multiple innings throughout the playoffs.
That is the lane Dion occupied for the Nationals down the stretch. He made 15 appearances and logged 30 innings, sometimes getting only one out and other times working as long as 4.1 innings. In a bullpen that badly needed help, he delivered a 3.00 ERA while striking out 30 batters in 30 innings.
The strikeout total stands out even more because Dion doesn’t bring overpowering velocity. His fastball averaged 91.1 MPH this season, yet hitters managed only a .198 average against it, and he recorded 31 of his 55 strikeouts with the pitch.
The heater works because of how he throws it: Dion uses an extreme over-the-top delivery and creates a ton of carry. His fastball averaged 20 inches of induced vertical break, one of the best marks in the league, which helps explain why hitters so often swing under it.
A fastball can’t truly rise, but Dion’s pitch resists gravity more than most, giving hitters that rising illusion. That fastball is the foundation of his mix, and the Nationals helped unlock the rest of it.
The biggest change came with his changeup. Before he got to DC, it was more of a secondary offering, used about 15% of the time.
Once he joined the Nationals, the usage jumped sharply. In August, he threw it 37.6% of the time, then 24.4% in September.
Even that lower figure was still well above where it had been before.
The pitch fits perfectly off his fastball. Dion’s changeup comes in at 78 MPH, a full 13 MPH slower than the heater, and it plays as a true bugs bunny changeup because it looks like the fastball before fading away late.
Hitters batted just .119 against it, and it produced a 33% whiff rate. He mostly leaned on it against right-handers, though by the end of the season he was also showing more left-on-left changeups.
His curveball rounds out the arsenal and comes out about 20% of the time. It’s not a big whiff pitch, but Dion uses it to steal strikes early in counts and can land it in the zone consistently.
The lack of velocity limits the ceiling, but Dion has already shown he can handle meaningful innings out of the bullpen. He and Brad Lord are expected to do the dirty work next season, and while that role won’t draw much attention, teams need it now more than ever.
If Dion carries over what he did after joining the Nationals, the Foster Griffin trade should age well. Josh Hartle could eventually fill a similar role, too.
For half a season of Foster Griffin, that’s a pretty solid outcome. Toboni didn’t swing for the fences here, but he may have landed a bullpen piece that can stick around for years.
In Other News...
Nationals Face A Tough Rotation Bet With Kris Bubic
Kris Bubic is the kind of arm that can tempt a front office into making a calculated gamble. The left-hander has flashed real upside when healthy, including an All-Star season in 2025 with the Royals, and he has also shown he can help in more than one role, working effectively both as a starter and out of the bullpen. For a Nationals club looking to add pitching without overcommitting, that kind of versatility makes him an intriguing name to watch.
The problem, of course, is the health history attached to the upside. Bubic has dealt with Tommy John surgery and a rotator cuff strain, which is why any pursuit would come with obvious risk even as ESPNs Kiley McDaniel projects him for a two-year, $18 million deal. For Washington, the question is not whether Bubic has talent, but whether his body and his role would make him the right kind of bet for a rotation that still needs certainty. [Read more 🡒]