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The Washington Nationals claimed outfielder Joey Wiemer from the San Francisco Giants on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
Wiemer, 26, has hit .205 with 21 doubles, 16 homers, 54 RBI, 40 walks, 12 stolen bases and 57 runs scored in 180 games across parts of three Major League seasons with the Miami Marlins (2025), Cincinnati Reds (2024) and Milwaukee Brewers (2023-24). He went 13-for-55 (.236) with two doubles, three home runs, 12 RBI, two walks and seven runs scored in 27 games for the Marlins last season. Wiemer enjoyed a breakout rookie season in 2023, clubbing 19 doubles and 13 home runs while stealing 11 bases in 132 games for the Brewers.
A versatile outfielder, Wiemer (wee-mur), has produced a fielding run value of 12 runs above average and seven outs above average for his career, according to Baseball Savant. The fielding run value of 12 is good for 13th in the National League since the start of 2023 (Min. 1000 innings). He has appeared in center field (123 G), right field (37 G), left field (18 G) and designated hitter (1 G) in his Major League career.
Wiemer was originally selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth round of the 2020 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Cincinnati. He was acquired by the Giants from the Miami Marlins in exchange for cash considerations on Nov. 21, 2025.
Washington’s 40-man roster is now at 40 players.
The Orioles tonight announced that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher ZACH EFLIN on a one-year major league contract for the 2026 season with a mutual option for 2027.
Eflin, 31, was the Opening Day starter for the Orioles in 2025 and went 6-5 with a 5.93 ERA (47 ER/71.1 IP) with 88 hits (18 HR), 48 total runs, 13 walks, and 50 strikeouts last season. He was limited to 14 starts due to three stints on the Injured List and didn’t pitch after July 28. The right-hander posted a 3.00 ERA (6 ER/18.0 IP) in three starts before his first placement on the Injured List and had a 4.08 mark (24 ER/53.0 IP) in his first nine starts through June 11.
Eflin was acquired by Baltimore from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for three minor league players on July 26, 2024. He is 11-7 with a 4.48 ERA (63 ER/126.1 IP) in 23 career starts with the O’s and 68-67 with a 4.28 ERA (511 ER/1,073.2 IP) in 200 appearances (188 GS) over 10 major league seasons between the Philadelphia Phillies, Rays, and Orioles. Since he made his MLB debut in 2016, his 4.9 percent walk rate is the third best among pitchers during that time (min. 900.0 IP) behind Miles Mikolas (4.4%) and Zack Greinke (4.8%). The Orlando, Fla. native was originally selected by the San Diego Padres in the supplemental first round (33rd overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Paul J. Hagerty (FL) High School.
To make room on the 40-man roster, outfielder WILL ROBERTSON has been designated for assignment. The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
The Washington Nationals announced the remainder of their Major League coaching staff on Tuesday. The announcement was made by Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and Manager Blake Butera. The complete list below joins Butera’s staff, which also includes Bench Coach Michael Johns and Pitching Coach Simon Mathews, who were announced in November.
Matt Borgschulte, 35, enters his fifth season as a coach at the Major League level and his first as Washington’s hitting coach. He spent the 2025 season as the hitting coach the Minnesota Twins and three seasons (2022-24) as the co-hitting coach for the Baltimore Orioles. Under his tutelage, Twins outfielder Byron Buxton (2025) and Orioles designated hitter Anthony Santander (2024) won their first American League Silver Slugger awards, and in 2024, Baltimore hitters ranked second in Major League Baseball in home runs (235) and third in slugging percentage (.435), extra-base hits (530) and total bases (2,424). Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson was named the American League Rookie of the Year, and both he and catcher Adley Rutschman won American League Silver Slugger awards in 2023.
With the Twins organization, Borgschulte spent time as the hitting coach for Triple-A St. Paul (2021), Single-A Fort Myers (2019) and the Gulf Coast League Twins (2018) and was the hitting coach at Minnesota’s Alternate Training Site in 2020. He joined the coaching ranks in 2017 with Single-A Palm Beach in St. Louis’ system after coaching at Southwest Missouri State from 2015-16. A native of St. Louis, Borgschulte played two collegiate seasons at Western Kentucky University before transferring to Drury University (Mo.).
Andrew Aydt, 30, comes to Washington after spending the last seven years as a coach at Driveline Baseball, most recently in the role of assistant director of hitting since January of 2024. In that role, he managed 15 coaches and more than 600 players and oversaw their entire Major League Baseball and professional player operation. During his time at Driveline, Aydt worked with a roster of more than 50 Major League players, including Corbin Carroll, Jeremy Peña, Vinnie Pasquantino and Nolan Arenado as well as top prospects like Travis Bazzana.
A native of Wildwood, Mo., Aydt played baseball and graduated from McKendree University (Ill.) in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in economics and earned a master’s of business administration in 2019.
The Washington Nationals signed left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin to a one-year Major League contract on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
Griffin, 30, returns to Major League Baseball after spending the last three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball. He went 18-10 with a 2.57 ERA, 9.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and 2.0 walks per 9.0 innings in 54 starts from 2023-25. A NPB Central League All-Star in 2025, Griffin went 6-1 with a 1.52 ERA, 87 strikeouts, 22 walks and just one home run allowed in 89.0 innings across 17 starts last season.
Griffin made his Major League debut with the Kansas City Royals in 2020, tossing 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win on July 27 vs. Detroit. He last appeared in Major League Baseball in 2022, pitching in six games between the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays. Griffin went 6-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 38 relief appearances between Triple-A Omaha and Triple-A Buffalo in 2022.
A first-round pick (No. 28 overall) by the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft out of The First Academy (Fla.), Griffin was the Royals Minor League Pitcher of the Year and representative in the SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2017. He went 49-50 with a 4.54 ERA in 194 Minor League games (154 starts) prior to joining the Yomiuri Giants in 2023.
The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Shane Baz from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor leaguers Caden Bodine (C), Slater de Brun (OF), Michael Forret (RHP), Austin Overn (OF), and a Competitive Balance Round A pick (No. 33) in the 2026 First-Year Player Draft.
Baz (pronounced bahz), 26, went 10-12 with a 4.87 ERA (90 ER/166.1 IP) with 158 hits (26 HR), 91 total runs, 64 walks, and 176 strikeouts in 31 starts for the Rays last season. He tossed a career-high 8.0 innings of scoreless ball on June 26 at Kansas City and completed at least 7.0 innings in five outings in 2025. His 9.52 strikeouts per nine innings and 24.6 percent strikeout rate both ranked in the top 20 of qualified major league pitchers last year. Baz has posted a 4.25 ERA (135 ER/286.0 IP) in 54 career starts, including a 3.06 ERA (27 ER/79.1 IP) in 14 games after returning from right elbow ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in 2024. The right-hander was originally selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first round (12th overall) of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of Concordia Lutheran (TX) High School. He was acquired by Tampa Bay along with right-handed pitcher Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Austin Meadows from Pittsburgh in exchange for right-hander Chris Archer on July 31, 2018.
Bodine, 22, was selected in the first round (30th overall) of the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Coastal Carolina University (SC). He made his professional debut last season and is ranked as the No. 10 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
de Brun, 18, was selected in the Competitive Balance Round A (37th overall) in the 2025 First-Year Player Draft out of Summit (OR) High School. He’s ranked as the No. 6 Orioles prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Forret, 21, was selected in the 14th round of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of the State College of Florida. In 19 appearances (18 GS) last season, he posted a 1.58 ERA (13 ER/74.0 IP) between two levels and struck out 91 batters in 74.0 innings. The righty is ranked as the No. 11 O’s prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
The Orioles today announced their 2026 major league coaching staff, led by first-year manager Craig Albernaz. Pitching Coach Drew French (3rd season), Assistant Pitching Coach Mitch Plassmeyer (3rd), Pitching Strategy Coach Ryan Klimek (4th), and Third Base Coach Buck Britton (2nd) return to the staff, while the club has hired Donnie Ecker as Bench Coach, Dustin Lind as Hitting Coach, Brady North as Assistant Hitting Coach, Jason Bourgeois as First Base Coach, Hank Conger as Bullpen Coach, Miguel Cairo as Infield Coach, and Joe Singley as Field Coordinator and Catching Coach.
Ecker, 39, spent the last four seasons with the Texas Rangers as the club’s offensive coordinator (2022-25). He also served as bench coach from 2022-24. The Rangers had at least one American League Silver Slugger Award winner in each of his first three years, and the team was selected as the winner of the inaugural team Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award in the AL in 2023 after Texas won the World Series behind a record-setting regular season in which the Rangers led the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. He has also worked professionally for the San Francisco Giants as hitting coach (2020-21), Cincinnati Reds as assistant hitting coach (2019), Los Angeles Angels as Triple-A Salt Lake hitting coach (2018), and a hitting coach for St. Louis Cardinals’ Single-A teams in Peoria (2017) and Palm Beach (2015-16). The utility player was selected in the 22nd round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft by the Rangers out of Lewis-Clark State College (ID) and played two professional seasons.
Lind, 37, was the assistant hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2024-25. He spent the previous four years with the Giants as director of hitting and assistant major league hitting coach, working on the same staff all four seasons with Albernaz, and Ecker for two (2020-21). He worked as an independent hitting consultant with the Seattle Mariners from 2014-17 before joining the organization as a minor league quality assurance coach in 2018 and was promoted to director of hitting development and strategies for the major league club in 2019. The former outfielder played collegiately at Montana State University-Billings from 2007-08 and Sierra College (CA) from 2010-11.
North, 34, had been the assistant hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays since the start of 2022. This will be his first role outside of the Rays’ organization after serving as the hitting coach for the GCL Rays (2019) and Class-A Bowling Green (2021). He was assigned to Class-A Charlotte in the same role in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. North was the director of hitting and mental performance at Top Level Athletes in Orlando, Fla., among other non-professional baseball roles, prior to joining Tampa Bay. The first baseman and outfielder played with Independent Lake Erie and Washington of the Frontier League after playing collegiately at Cumberland University (TN), Jacksonville University (FL), and Hillsborough Community College (FL). The Tampa, Fla. native graduated from Gaither (FL) High School.
Bourgeois (pronounced BOOSH-wah), 43, joins the Orioles after serving as the first base and outfield coach for the Chicago White Sox for two seasons. He spent five years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, working as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator from 2021-23 and as a coach for Single-A Great Lakes in 2019. Bourgeois would have been on the coaching staff for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled. The former outfielder played parts of eight major league seasons from 2008-15 with the White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Rays, and Reds. He was originally selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft out of Forest Brook (TX) High School.
Anirudh Kilambi, a highly regarded front office executive with more than 10 years of experience with the Philadelphia Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays, was named general manager of the Washington Nationals on Thursday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
Kilambi, 31, spent the previous four years (2021-25) with the Phillies as an assistant general manager. In his role, he oversaw the club’s research and information departments as well as the club’s use of data throughout all aspects of their organizational decision-making process. He was also a key influence in pro evaluation and strategy, as well as other key areas across baseball operations.
“Ani has earned a reputation around the industry as one of the brightest front office minds in the game,” Toboni said. “He’s not only a sharp and strategic leader who is a great communicator, but he is also thoughtful and humble and aligns with our values. Ani is an excellent complement to the leadership group we have in place, both in terms of his past experiences and who he is as a person.”
“I would like to thank the Lerner, Cohen and Tanenbaum families for trusting our front office to be the stewards of a new era of Nationals baseball, and Paul Toboni for giving me the opportunity to share in his vision,” Kilambi said. “Our goal is to be the highest performing organization in baseball. To do so, we aim to exemplify our core values of joy, humility, integrity and competitiveness, while displaying sharp eyes for talent and best-in-class player development. I’m excited to call Washington, D.C. my home and cannot wait to get started.”
Kilambi spent seven years (2015-21) with the Tampa Bay Rays, elevating to the role of director of decision science in 2021 before joining the Phillies in November of that year. He was Tampa Bay’s assistant director of baseball research and development for three years (2018-21), an analyst in predictive modeling in baseball research and development (2017-18) and an assistant in research and development (2016-17). Kilambi joined the organization as an intern in their baseball research and development department in 2015.
The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
- C Maverick Handley cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
- Agreed to terms on 2026 minor league contracts with RHP Albert Suárez and INF Willy Vasquez.
The Orioles have made the following roster move:
- C Drew Romo claimed off waivers by the New York Mets
The Washington Nationals acquired right-handed pitcher Luis Perales from the Boston Red Sox in exchange for left-handed pitcher Jake Bennett on Monday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
Perales, 22, is the No. 5 prospect in Boston’s system, according to Baseball America, and its No. 7 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com. Perales went from unranked to the No. 57 prospect in baseball in 2024 – according to Baseball America – before undergoing Tommy John surgery in June of that season. He was cited by Baseball America as having the “best fastball” in Boston’s Minor League system prior to both the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Perales returned to the mound in 2025, appearing in three games (2.1 IP) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worchester.
Perales (per-AHL-iss) paced Boston’s system and ranked 15th in all of Minor League Baseball (min. 30.0 IP) with 14.97 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in 2024. He went 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA (11 ER/33.2 IP) and 56 strikeouts in nine games (nine starts) in 2024 prior to the injury. Perales pitched to a 1.88 ERA (6 ER/28.2 IP) with 49 strikeouts and just 10 walks in in his final seven starts after allowing five earned runs in 5.0 innings across his first two starts of the season.
Through five professional seasons (2021-25), Perales has posted 12.56 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and 0.7 home runs per 9.0 innings. He’s surrendered just 12 home runs in 163.1 innings pitched. He is 6-11 with a 3.31 ERA, 228 strikeouts and a .217 opponents’ batting average in 47 professional games (43 starts). A native of Guacara, Venezuela, Perales signed with Boston as an international free agent on July 2, 2019.
The Orioles have made the following roster move:
- 1B/OF Ryan Noda cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles today announced that they have agreed to terms with first baseman PETE ALONSO on a five-year major league contract for the 2026-30 seasons.
Alonso, 31, is a five-time All-Star, 2025 Silver Slugger Award winner, and 2019 National League Rookie of the Year, all over a seven-year career with the New York Mets. He slashed .272/.347/.524 (170-for-624) with 41 doubles, one triple, 38 home runs, 87 runs scored, and 126 RBI in 162 games last season, setting career highs in hits and doubles. Alonso became the first player in Mets franchise history to play in 162 games twice and has played 416 consecutive games since 2023, the second-longest active streak in the majors behind Atlanta’s Matt Olson (783 G).
Alonso became the Mets’ franchise leader in home runs after hitting his 253rd on August 12, 2025 vs. Atlanta. He also ranks among franchise leaders with 712 RBI (3rd), 655 extra-base hits (4th), and 580 runs (8th). The first baseman is one of six active players with five or more seasons of at least 35 home runs and joins Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber and New York-AL’s Aaron Judge as the only players in the majors since 2019 with five or more seasons of 35+ homers. His 264 career home runs are ninth-most in major league history through a player’s first 1,008 big league games and are the third-most by a player in his first seven big league seasons behind Ralph Kiner (294 HR) and Albert Pujols (282 HR). Since debuting in 2019, he’s driven in an MLB-high 712 runs, 33 more than any other player during that time.
Alonso was the Mets’ 2021 Roberto Clemente Award nominee, presented annually to recognize the MLB player who best represents the game through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field. He and his wife, Haley, founded The Alonso Foundation in 2020, a non-profit dedicated to supporting the community through advocacy, grants, and programs. The Alonso Foundation advocates for underserved groups through the support of youth causes, animal welfare, veterans, and more.
The Tampa, Fla. native was originally selected by the Mets in the second round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida. Alonso and his wife reside in Tampa, Fla. with their son.
The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
- Claimed LHP Josh Walker off waivers from the Atlanta Braves.
- Designated C Drew Romo for assignment.
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
The Washington Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Griff McGarry in the first round of the 2025 Major League Rule 5 Draft. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
McGarry, 26, ranked fourth in Minor League Baseball with 13.34 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (min. 80.0 IP) and fourth in the Philadelphia Phillies Minor League system with 124 strikeouts en route to being named 2025 Phillies Minor League Pitcher of the Year. He went 2-5 with a 3.44 ERA and a .180 opponents’ batting average in 21 starts between Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Double-A Reading and Single-A Clearwater. From Aug. 1 through the end of the season, McGarry pitched to a 2.34 ERA (11 ER/42.1 IP) with 70 strikeouts and a .166 opponents’ average in nine starts.
Selected in the fifth round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Virginia, McGarry has posted 13.17 strikeouts per 9.0 innings and a .182 opponents’ batting average in five professional seasons. His strikeouts per 9.0 innings mark ranks third in all of Minor League Baseball, and his opponents’ average is good for fourth over that span (min. 250.0 IP).
In 2022, McGarry ranked among Phillies Minor Leaguers in strikeouts (3rd, 130) and innings pitched (8th, 87.1). He began his career as a starter before transitioning to the bullpen in 2024. McGarry returned to the starting rotation in 2025. He is 10-17 with a 4.14 ERA in 103 career games (61 starts).
McGarry is a native of San Francisco, Calif., and graduated from Menlo-Atherton High School. He was selected in the 31st round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft but chose to attend the University of Virginia where he graduated with a degree in American studies.
Nationals open home schedule on Friday, April 3, against Los Angeles Dodgers
Just in time for holiday shopping, the Washington Nationals today unveiled select giveaways for the 2026 season, featuring an array of exclusive bobbleheads, apparel and collectibles for fans of all ages. Single-game tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, Dec. 11, with early access for Season Plan Holders beginning Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Fans will have several chances to add to their bobblehead collections with a lineup featuring a number of powerful forces, including Nationals stars CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile and James Wood; Marvel’s Captain America; a Star Wars™ Day Nationals Grogu, and more.
Bobblehead giveaways:
· Saturday, May 2 – STAR WARS™ Day Nationals Grogu bobblehead
Creating The Next Envy of Sport
by Paul Toboni, Washington Nationals President of Baseball Operations
Baseball’s Winter Meetings begin this week, marking the unofficial start to what baseball people call the “hot stove season” – a throwback to a time when if you wanted to talk baseball in the winter, you literally gathered around a hot stove. In that same vein, I wanted to take this chance, metaphorically, to gather Nationals fans around to talk not only about how we’re going to approach this offseason, but the long-term future of our ball club.
When I left a great job at the Boston Red Sox to take the job of president of baseball operations in Washington, I said that my goal is to make the Nationals the envy of sport.
To me, that means an organization defined by our relentless pursuit of excellence, strengthened by our connection to each other and fueled by our positive energy. As a result, we become an organization that players and staff are itching to join because they know it’s where they will develop and thrive most; a place that energizes our loyal fans and attracts new ones, and where success is achieved – and sustained – over time.
In pursuing that goal, we have several advantages, including young, exciting talent, a vibrant city, and passionate, smart fans. It is my job to support and insulate that talent with a better pipeline, and, just as importantly, help current Major League players find the extra gear they need to fulfill their potential.
Late DeMatha High School coach and Basketball Hall of Famer Morgan Wootten often talked about a winning effort being the precursor to actual wins. The same is true in baseball. What players and coaches do or don’t do shows up every night in the box score in black and white. That’s the kind of visible scoreboard I embrace.
I intend to take accountability for our organizational consistency. That means our coaches and development staff speak with a unified voice, from our academy in the Dominican Republic up through the Major League level, so that players continue to get the same messages as they progress through their careers.
It also means that every player in our system will enhance his talents and work hard to eliminate deficiencies through individualized player plans. We will create “priority goals” for each player, ranked by those which offer the greatest benefit once improved. Perhaps that goal is developing a pitcher’s third pitch, improving a hitter’s strike zone discipline, or increasing an infielder’s range. Each goal achieved unlocks the next, creating a journey, and eventually a culture of continuous improvement.
Somewhere out there, the players who will comprise the next great Washington Nationals teams are taking shape, and they will largely be developed inside our walls. Our coaching and development staffs are already at work setting priority goals, systematically identifying and tackling them one by one. Improvement won’t just happen by accident – it will be the product of excellent planning, thoughtful collaboration and diligent execution.
One thing that has been gratifying for me to see early in my tenure with the Nationals is how a commitment to continual improvement is taking place in all areas of our organization, which can create a meaningful flywheel effect. After all, a strong business can support better baseball – and vice versa – and it’s that high-functioning partnership that can ultimately drive sustainable winning.
Progress comes from stacking good decisions on top of good decisions. In the two months I’ve been here, this has manifested itself most visibly in the construction of our baseball operations staff, hiring and maintaining some of the best talent in the industry to oversee player development, work in research and development, and oversee our hitting and pitching programs.
The biggest piece of our offseason so far has been hiring Blake Butera as our manager. Blake is an exemplary person who is aligned with our values and goals and understands what it takes to create a culture of sustained success. Blake’s time in the dugout and in the front office also uniquely position him to lead our Major Leaguers as we seek to push our big-league players to find their next gear.
Building a team that becomes the envy of sport is an ambitious goal. Some days it will feel as if we’re moving quickly; others might feel like we’ve hit rush-hour traffic on the Beltway. There will be pockets of frustration. It will certainly take time, measured in years. And baseball is a game that involves luck as well as skill – injuries suffered or avoided; balls that drop in that could just as easily been caught. We can only control what we can control. But the most important thing is that we’re continuing to move forward.
It has been two months since Washington, D.C., and Nationals fans everywhere welcomed me and my family to your region and your team. With each day that passes, we’re becoming more familiar with this vibrant and diverse city, and we love how it brings together people from all walks of life.
Baseball, too, brings people together. Growing up in San Francisco, I remember going to the yard and watching players like Barry Bonds and Tim Lincecum, and how the entire community came alive knowing every pitch had the chance to be special. During my time with the Red Sox, I felt the electricity throughout the city during our 2018 World Series run; an energy which ran through Washington the following year. My hope is that by building sustainable success, Nationals Park can be grounds for childhood memories, family gatherings, work outings, nights with friends, and, in a city that sometimes struggles to find it, perhaps even political common ground.
I want kids growing up in the D.C. area to fall in love with the game the same way I did – by coming out to the ballpark. I want fans of all ages to know that when they come to Nationals Park, they’ll see a team that plays hard for them — driven every day by their support.
More than anything, I’m appreciative for the chance to help realize this vision and humbled to be part of the effort. It’s a responsibility – to this fan base and to this city – that I don’t take lightly.
The Washington Nationals acquired consensus top-100 prospect catcher Harry Ford and right-handed pitcher Isaac Lyon from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for left-handed pitcher José A. Ferrer on Saturday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni made the announcement.
Ford, 22, is currently the No. 42 prospect in Major League Baseball, according to MLBPipeline.com, and the No. 74 prospect in the game, per Baseball America. He spent the majority of the 2025 season with Triple-A Tacoma, hitting .283 with 18 doubles, 16 home runs, 74 RBI, 74 walks, seven stolen bases and 68 runs scored in 97 games. He recorded a .408 on-base percentage and a .460 slugging percentage and struck out just 88 times in 458 plate appearances (19.1% strikeout rate).
Selected 12th overall in the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of North Cobb High School (Ga.), Ford made his Major League debut on Sept. 5, 2025 at Atlanta. On Sept. 11 against the Los Angeles Angels, he drove in the game-winning run with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the 12th inning. Ford appeared in eight games during his first Major League stint, going 1-for-6 (.167) with one RBI and one run scored.
Ford reached base in 28 straight games from July 18 to Aug. 30, the day he was called up by the Seattle Mariners. He also reached base safely in 23 consecutive games from April 9 to May 14 and was one of two Pacific Coast League players to record two on-base streaks of at least 20 games last season. Ford put together a strong month of May, hitting .411 (37-for-90) with six doubles, five homers, 20 RBI, 11 walks, one stolen base and 18 runs scored in 22 games.
A two-time participant (2023, 2024) in the All-Star Futures Game, Ford has hit .266/.405/.428 with 98 doubles, 10 triples, 52 home runs, 261 RBI, 348 walks, 92 stolen bases in 454 career Minor League games. Since the start of the 2022 season – his first full season of professional baseball - his 339 walks and .405 on-base percentage are second-best in all of Minor League Baseball. He represented Great Britian in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, hitting two home runs while going 4-for-13 (.308) with a double and four RBI in four games.
Yesterday, the Orioles made the following roster moves:
- Claimed OF Will Robertson off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Claimed C Drew Romo off waivers from the Colorado Rockies.
- Designated 1B/OF Ryan Noda for assignment.
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
The Orioles today announced that they have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher RYAN HELSLEY on a two-year major league contract for the 2026-27 seasons with a player opt-out following 2026.
Helsley, 31, is a two-time All-Star and the 2024 Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year. He went 3-4 with 21 saves, a 4.50 ERA (28 ER/56.0 IP), 61 hits (8 HR), 25 walks (3 IBB), and 63 strikeouts in 58 appearances between the St. Louis Cardinals (36 G) and New York Mets (22 G) last season. All 21 saves came with the Cardinals before being acquired by the Mets in exchange for three minor leaguers on July 30. The right-hander has recorded 77 saves since returning from injury on September 1, 2023, second most in the majors during that period behind Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase (79 SV). The Tahlequah, Okla. native set the Cardinals single-season saves record with 49 in 2024, the most by a major leaguer since New York-NL’s Edwin Díaz (57 SV) in 2018.
Since the start of 2022, opponents are batting .141 (50-for-354) against his slider, the sixth-lowest average among major league relievers off a single pitch (min. 250 AB) during that time. According to Baseball Savant, Helsley’s slider had a run value of 12 in 2025, tied for the fifth best in the majors. He was also tied for fifth in slider run value with 13 in 2024, but the pitch’s run value per 100 pitches was 2.8, the best in the majors on a slider and tied for the third-best pitch in the majors that season behind Cleveland’s Cade Smith’s four-seam fastball (3.0 RV/100) and Emmanuel Clase’s cutter (3.1 RV/100).
Helsley was originally selected by St. Louis in the fifth round of the 2015 First-Year Player Draft out of Northeastern State University (OK). In 297 career appearances between the Cardinals (275 G) and Mets (22 G), he’s 31-18 with 105 saves, a 2.96 ERA (105 ER/319.2 IP), and 377 strikeouts.
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.
The Nationals have avoided salary arbitration and agreed to a one-year contract for 2026 with Riley Adams.
The Nationals have also tendered contracts to all of our other unsigned 40-Man Roster players.
The 40-Man Roster remains at 37.
