PLAYER REVIEW: CLAYTON BEETER

Age on Opening Day 2026: 27

How acquired: Traded with Browm Martinez from Yankees for Amed Rosario, July 2025

MLB service time: 129 days

2025 salary: $763,325

Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2028, free agent in 2032

2025 stats: 0-2, 2.49 ERA, 24 G, 1 SV, 21 2/3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 HR, 14 BB, 32 SO, 0 HBP, 1.015 WHIP, 167 ERA+, 2.72 FIP, 0.6 bWAR, 0.2 fWAR

Quotable: “I think the walks are going to happen a little bit. Obviously, I want to limit them as much as I can. But I think I get a decent amount of miss, so I’m naturally going to throw more pitches, and sometimes that might lead to more walks. I just plan on getting out of an inning if I do walk someone and stay locked in.” – Clayton Beeter

2025 analysis: Originally drafted by the Dodgers in 2020, Beeter was dealt to the Yankees in August 2022 for none other than Joey Gallo. New York envisioned him as a potential future big league starter, but injuries prompted a move to the bullpen. He opened this season on the IL with a right shoulder impingement, then once healthy in mid-May began pitching in relief at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, earning two brief promotions to the Bronx that didn’t go so well.

With the Yankees looking for bench help approaching the trade deadline this summer, the Nationals offered up Amed Rosario and were able to receive Beeter (along with 18-year-old Dominican outfielder Browm Martinez) in return. He made three appearances for his new organization at Triple-A Rochester, then got the call to join the big league bullpen.

Beeter’s first couple weeks with the Nats were shaky; he was scored upon in three of six outings, blew an eighth-inning lead in Kansas City and took a loss against the Phillies. But he found his groove after that. Keeping the ball in the strike zone more and overwhelming hitters with his sharp-breaking slider, he was scored upon in only one of his final 18 games. Along the way, he ascended into a higher-profile role at the back end of Miguel Cairo’s bullpen, notching nine holds as well as his first career save when Jose A. Ferrer needed a day off.

2026 outlook: The Nationals knew there was only so much they were going to get in return for a part-time infielder on an expiring contract. But they might just have received a lot more than anyone would have expected if Beeter develops into a consistently effective late-inning arm. And there are plenty of reasons to believe that could be possible, with one very important red flag that could prevent it from happening.

The reason to believe Beeter could be legitimate: He has an elite pitch that induces a ton of swings and misses. Opponents batted a measly .098 (5-for-51) off his slider, whiffing at an insane rate of 49.1 percent. That’s right: They failed to make contact nearly 50 percent of the time they swung against that pitch. And it was equally effective against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, making it a true weapon.

The red flag: Beeter doesn’t throw the ball in the strike zone enough. He only allowed eight hits in 21 2/3 innings, but he walked 14 batters in that same timeframe. It doesn’t matter how good his stuff is if hitters can detect it’s going to be a ball the moment it leaves his hand. To his credit, he managed to pitch around a good number of those walks and not let innings get out of control. But in the long run, he’s going to have to reduce his number of uncompetitive pitches.

That’s a risk the Nationals are probably willing to take. With a mid-to-upper 90s fastball to go along with that wipeout slider, he offers a lot of promise. This team has sorely lacked relievers with swing-and-miss stuff in recent years. If Beeter can harness his repertoire just enough to keep pitches near the strike zone, he has the potential to become a bullpen fixture for them.