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The Nationals continued to remake their 40-man roster this afternoon with a series of transactions that included the departures of pitchers Zach Brzykcy and Ryan Loutos, the demotion of infielder Trey Lipscomb and the official activation of Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Drew Millas and Trevor Williams off the injured list.
Both Brzykcy and Loutos were claimed off outright waivers, Brzykcy by the Marlins and Loutos by the Mariners. Lipscomb, meanwhile, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester, coming off the 40-man roster in the process.
The transactions were the latest in a string of moves by new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and his front office to reset the Nats’ 40-man roster heading into the offseason. They’ve managed to clear a good amount of space for future additions, with six openings now available for their use, and the potential for even more in the coming weeks.
Brzykcy briefly looked like an organizational success story, an undrafted reliever out of Virginia Tech who had the potential to become a high-leverage arm in the big leagues. But the 26-year-old was beset by injuries, and once healthy couldn’t sustain any success in the majors. In 32 games over the last two seasons, he went 0-1 with a 10.05 ERA and 1.814 WHIP, striking out an impressive 9.4 batters per nine innings but doomed by a high walk rate (4.7 per nine innings) and home run rate (2.3 per nine innings). He'll now get a shot to realize his potential in Miami.
Loutos, 26, was a midseason acquisition by former general manager Mike Rizzo, claimed off waivers from the Dodgers. The right-hander struggled in 10 appearances, going 1-0 with a 12.00 ERA and 2.444 WHIP, with the same number of walks as strikeouts (six) and three homers surrendered in only nine innings. Originally with the Cardinals, he’ll try to resurrect his career in Seattle.
Lipscomb was once viewed as a potential part of the Nationals’ long-term puzzle after a dominant spring training in 2024 that nearly earned him a spot on the Opening Day roster. The 2022 third-round pick and Maryland native proved adept defensively around the infield but could not hit with consistency, batting .206 with one homer, 10 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and a .509 OPS across 215 major league plate appearances (only four of those coming this season). Because the 25-year-old went unclaimed after being placed on waivers, he’ll remain in the organization but is no longer on the 40-man roster.
Those three players join five others who were dropped from the 40-man roster over the last two weeks: right-handers Eduardo Salazar and Mason Thompson, plus catcher Jorge Alfaro, elected to become free agents; lefty Shinnosuke Ogasawara and catcher CJ Stubbs were outrighted to Rochester. Veterans Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Derek Law, meanwhile, became free agents.
The Nats needed to clear spots for four remaining players who ended the season on the 60-day IL, all of whom were officially activated today. Gray, who had Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure in July 2024, hopes to be ready for Opening Day. Herz, who had Tommy John surgery in April, hopes to be ready sometime early in the season. Millas, who fractured his index finger in late-August, will be healthy for spring training. Williams, who had an internal brace procedure on his elbow in July, hopes to be ready in April or May.
Here's the current 40-man roster, which now has only 34 players …
CATCHERS (3): Riley Adams, Drew Millas, Keibert Ruiz
INFIELDERS (6): CJ Abrams, Andrés Chaparro, Luis García Jr., Brady House, Nasim Nuñez, José Tena
OUTFIELDERS (5): Dylan Crews, Robert Hassell III, Daylen Lile, James Wood, Jacob Young
STARTING PITCHERS (11): Andrew Alvarez, Cade Cavalli, Jake Eder, MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Jake Irvin, Andry Lara, Brad Lord, Mitchell Parker, Trevor Williams
RELIEF PITCHERS (9): Clayton Beeter, Julian Fernandez, Jose A. Ferrer, Cole Henry, Sauryn Lao, Konnor Pilkington, PJ Poulin, Orlando Ribalta, Jackson Rutledge
