The Nationals are bringing in a veteran presence to stabilize their young, uncertain rotation, signing 37-year-old right-hander Miles Mikolas to a one-year deal. The move adds a durable arm to a staff that’s short on experience and even shorter on proven innings. While the team will need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move - likely shifting DJ Herz to the 60-day IL - the headline here is clear: Washington is betting on reliability over upside.
Mikolas has built a reputation as one of the game’s true workhorses, especially in the back half of his career. After stints with the Padres and Rangers, and a successful three-year run in Japan with the Yomiuri Giants, Mikolas returned to MLB with the Cardinals in 2018 and quickly became a fixture in their rotation. He made 32 starts in both 2018 and 2019, but injuries - particularly forearm issues - derailed his 2020 and 2021 campaigns.
Since then, though, he’s been a model of consistency. From 2022 through 2025, Mikolas made at least 31 starts each season, including a league-high 35 in 2023.
Over the last four years, only Logan Webb has made more starts, and just four pitchers in all of baseball have logged more innings. That kind of durability is rare in today’s game, especially from a pitcher in his late 30s.
But while the quantity has been there, the quality has started to slip. In 2025, Mikolas posted a 4.84 ERA and a nearly identical 4.83 SIERA.
His strikeout rate dropped to just 14.9%, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio dipped to 2.70 - both his lowest marks since returning from Japan. Among pitchers who threw at least 150 innings last season, only one - Mitchell Parker, now his teammate - had a lower strikeout rate.
The contact Mikolas gave up was also more damaging. According to Statcast, no pitcher in that 150-inning threshold gave up barrels at a higher rate.
His expected ERA (xERA) placed him in the bottom 9% of all MLB arms, and advanced pitch modeling tools like Stuff+ and PitchingBot painted a similar picture: the veteran’s stuff simply isn’t fooling hitters the way it used to. He’s never been a strikeout artist, but in 2025, his arsenal graded out among the weakest in the league.
Still, there’s value in what Mikolas brings - especially for a Nationals team that desperately needs someone to take the ball every fifth day. He made 31 starts last season and logged 156 1/3 innings.
He recorded eight quality starts and completed at least five innings in 24 of those outings. For a rotation filled with question marks, that kind of dependability has real value.
Washington’s projected rotation heading into 2026 includes Josiah Gray, Cade Cavalli, Foster Griffin, Jake Irvin, Brad Lord, and Parker. Of that group, only Irvin and Parker have completed even one full big-league season, and only Gray has ever made 30 starts in a year. Injuries, inconsistency, and inexperience are the common threads here - and that’s exactly where Mikolas fits in.
He may not be the frontline guy he once was, but Mikolas gives the Nationals a stabilizing force - a veteran who can eat innings, keep games competitive, and, perhaps most importantly, take pressure off a young staff still trying to find its footing. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, this is the kind of low-risk, high-floor move that can help bridge the gap to the future.