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The Nationals agreed to terms on a 2026 contract with Josiah Gray on Friday, avoiding arbitration with the right-hander, who is attempting to make it back from major elbow surgery.
Gray agreed to a deal that will pay him $1.35 million, a source familiar with the terms confirmed, matching his salary from this season. The vast majority of players who are arbitration-eligible receive raises through the process, but he was unlikely to be awarded one because he did not pitch at all in the majors in 2025.
Had the two sides not been able to agree to a salary on their own, they would’ve needed to file for arbitration next month, submitting competing offers and then making their cases before a three-judge panel in February.
Gray joins catcher Riley Adams ($1 million) as players who have avoided arbitration with the Nationals so far. They are still attempting to work out deals with five other arbitration-eligible players: second baseman Luis García Jr., shortstop CJ Abrams, left-hander MacKenzie Gore and right-handers Jake Irvin and Cade Cavalli.
An All-Star in 2023 and the team’s Opening Day starter the following season, Gray hasn’t pitched in a big league game since April 4, 2024, after which he reported forearm soreness. Initially diagnosed with a flexor strain, he was back pitching in minor league rehab games two months later and appeared to be on the verge of coming off the injured list when he reported new soreness in his elbow following a June 30 start with Triple-A Rochester.
A new MRI revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament. Gray underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2024, also undergoing an internal brace procedure to further strengthen his new elbow ligament.
Gray hoped to make it back to the Nationals rotation before the end of the 2025 season, but despite experiencing no setbacks along the way, his time ran out after three successful September rehab starts. He went home for the winter expecting a normal offseason and a chance to return next spring at full strength.
New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said this week at the Winter Meetings in Orlando that Gray is head of two other pitchers rehabbing from elbow surgery: DJ Herz and Trevor Williams.
“I don’t want to say 100 percent sure, but Josiah seems like he’s in a really good spot,” Toboni said. “I think he should be ready for spring training, to be full-go.”
If healthy, Gray has a good chance of making the Opening Day rotation, joining a relatively inexperienced group that includes Gore, Irvin, Cavalli and perhaps Brad Lord, Mitchell Parker or Andrew Alvarez. Toboni also acknowledged this week a desire to add more pitching, with free agency a viable path to acquiring an experienced starter.
