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PLAYER REVIEW: JACKSON RUTLEDGE
Age on Opening Day 2026: 26
How acquired: First round pick, 2019 MLB Draft
MLB service time: 1 year, 25 days
2025 salary: $760,000
Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2028, free agent in 2031
2025 stats: 4-2, 5.77 ERA, 63 G, 0 SV, 73 1/3 IP, 87 H, 49 R, 47 ER, 16 HR, 24 BB, 65 SO, 7 HBP, 1.514 WHIP, 71 ERA+, 5.47 FIP, -0.5 bWAR, -0.5 fWAR
Quotable: “We have a lot of guys who are former starters now in the bullpen. We have a lot of guys who are young. We’re just talking, learning from each other, keeping each other up. When a guy gives up a couple runs, picking him up. And when a guy has a good outing, getting fired up for him. That’s how I think collectively we’re going to get better.” – Jackson Rutledge
2025 analysis: Six years after they used a first round pick on him, believing he’d become a long-term part of their rotation, the Nationals gave up on the idea of Rutledge as a starting pitcher. Injuries and inconsistent performances left that path untenable any longer, so the organization decided to give the right-hander a new shot out of the bullpen, working him on a reliever’s schedule throughout spring training and then sending him to Triple-A Rochester to begin the year. One week later, the big league club was in need of bullpen arms, so Rutledge got the call. He never went back down despite some performances that suggested he wasn’t really up to the task.
The first month-plus went well. Rutledge delivered a 2.61 ERA and 23 strikeouts through his first 20 2/3 innings, often being used by former manager Davey Martinez in multiple-inning stints. That included some near-high-leverage situations in the sixth and seventh innings in mid-May. But it did not last.
Three straight rough outings in late-May raised his ERA over 5.00, and it remained well above that mark the rest of the way. Over his final 48 appearances, Rutledge gave up 41 earned runs, torched by 15 home runs served up in only 52 2/3 innings. He rarely pitched in leverage spots unless others were unavailable, which explains in part how the Nats’ record in games he appeared was a dismal 18-45.
2026 outlook: Rutledge’s status as a first round pick afforded him the kind of rope others in the organization may not have been given, even as he struggled. Despite a bloated ERA and home run rate, he remained on the big league roster from April 4 through Sept. 28, his 63 appearances second on the club only to Jose A. Ferrer.
Dig into the numbers and it’s not hard to figure out why Rutledge struggled to so much extent. He had only one reliable pitch: his slider, which opponents batted only .194 and slugged only .250 against. The problem: He rarely threw that pitch to left-handed hitters, who overall slashed an ugly .363/.430/.694 against him. (Righties slashed a more respectable .249/.305/.385, thanks to the usage of that slider.) His other pitches (sinker, four-seam fastball, cutter, splitter) all rated well below-average, with hitters going a ridiculous 16-for-32 with five homers off the cutter, good for a 1.000 slugging percentage.
If he’s ever going to sustain any kind of success at the major league level, Rutledge is going to have to figure out how to induce weaker contact with his fastball (which he threw at a decent 95.4 mph). He’s going to have to find another weapon that can get left-handed hitters out. And he’s going to have to keep the ball in the park: His 16 home runs were the most surrendered by any full-time major league reliever this season.
Having spent parts of the last three years in both the majors and minors, Rutledge is now out of options. He’s still two years away from arbitration eligibility, so his salary remains low. But the Nationals will need to decide if they’re willing to continue carrying him on their big league roster, knowing he can’t be sent down any longer without first passing through waivers.
