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PLAYER REVIEW: BRAD LORD
Age on Opening Day 2026: 26
How acquired: 18th round pick, 2022 MLB Draft
MLB service time: 1 year
2025 salary: $760,000
Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2028, free agent in 2031
2025 stats: 5-10, 4.34 ERA, 48 G, 19 GS, 130 2/3 IP, 126 H, 65 R, 63 ER, 17 HR, 43 BB, 108 SO, 3 HBP, 1.293 WHIP, 95 ERA+, 4.23 FIP, 1.5 bWAR, 1.2 fWAR
Quotable: “It was a season full of challenges, ups and downs. But I feel like I was able to handle it pretty good. It sucks to end this way, leaves a sour taste. I’m just going to use that as motivation going into the offseason to get better at some things.” – Brad Lord
2025 analysis: Lord was on the Nationals’ radar when spring training began, not as an immediate part of the plan but as a likely depth piece if and when the rotation needed help during the season. But the right-hander impressed so much in Florida, then-club officials decided he was worthy of a spot on the Opening Day roster … in the bullpen.
That plan lasted all of one week. When Michael Soroka landed on the 15-day injured list after one start, Lord took over his spot and spent the next month in the big league rotation, pitching fairly well while building up his arm to a full starter’s workload. He seemed worthy of retaining that spot, but when Soroka was ready to be activated in mid-May, the Nats moved Lord back into the bullpen.
He really thrived in that role. In 29 relief appearances, Lord delivered a 2.79 ERA and 1.164 WHIP while averaging 8.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He was so effective, he wound up assuming one of the primary setup roles in front of closer Kyle Finnegan and became one of former manager Davey Martinez’s most trusted late-inning arms.
But when Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo were fired, the interim tandem of Miguel Cairo and Mike DeBartolo flipped the script again. When the Nats returned from the All-Star break, Lord returned to the rotation. And he remained there the rest of the season, continuing to impress most of the time but appearing to wear down as August turned into September, his ERA jumping from the low-3.00s to the low-4.00s by the time his rookie campaign came to an end.
2026 outlook: There’s no question Lord earned a spot on the Nationals’ Opening Day pitching staff next spring. The question is where does he best fit in right now, and where might he best fit in long-term?
Is he a starter? He certainly showed he could be effective, though it was at times tough to get a good read of the situation because he had to build up his arm on the fly in April, then he had to deal with the wear and tear of a long season in which he topped 130 innings pitched down the stretch. But he clearly was more effective as a reliever, unfazed by high-leverage situations and with good fastball command and an ability to keep the ball in the park to avoid blowups.
Lord doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but his 94-95 mph fastball really is his best pitch because it’s deceptive and he locates it well. His changeup (which he mostly threw to left-handed hitters) also was a consistently effective pitch. He needs, however, to perfect his slider, which opponents slugged a healthy .469 against. It’s tough to be a good starter with only two pitches you can rely on.
Here’s some more food for thought: Opposing hitters progressively got better against Lord the more they saw him. They batted just .226 and slugged just .313 the first time they faced him in a game, regardless of his role as a starter or reliever. But those numbers jumped to .241 and .448 the second time around, and a whopping .451 and .882 the third time around (though there were only 55 such plate appearances all season).
If they intend to keep him as a starter, the Nationals might need to limit Lord to five innings or two trips through the order, at least until he realizes more success with his breaking ball. Or they could just decide to make him a full-time reliever and trust that he can be effective in high-leverage spots with a good fastball-changeup combo.
