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PLAYER REVIEW: PJ POULIN
Age on Opening Day 2026: 29
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Tigers, August 2025
MLB service time: 55 days
2025 salary: $760,000
Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2029, free agent in 2032
2025 stats: 2-1, 3.65 ERA, 28 G, 1 SV, 24 2/3 IP, 23 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 13 BB, 27 SO, 2 HBP, 1.459 WHIP, 114 ERA+, 3.83 FIP, 0.4 bWAR, 0.2 fWAR
Quotable: “It’s hard to put into words just how hard it can be to get here. I’m 29. This is my eighth year of professional baseball. I’m so happy to be standing here.” – PJ Poulin
2025 analysis: Originally drafted by the Rockies in 2018, Poulin was traded to the Tigers for cash considerations in 2024 and thought he caught his big break this year when Detroit added him to the 40-man roster. Turns out that spot was fleeting, because the Tigers designated the left-hander for assignment when they needed to create space for their trade deadline acquisitions (including Kyle Finnegan) despite his 7-1 record, 3.38 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings at Triple-A Toledo.
Enter the Nationals, who needed bullpen help after dealing Finnegan, Luis Garcia and Andrew Chafin and decided to claim Poulin off waivers and immediately put him on the major league roster. He debuted that night with a scoreless inning against the Athletics and proceeded to deliver a 1.42 ERA over his first 20 big league appearances.
The Nats began using Poulin in high-leverage situations. He pitched the ninth and 10th innings Aug. 22 in Philadelphia, earning his first career win. He earned another win with a perfect top of the seventh Sept. 12 against the Pirates. And he retired the side in the bottom of the 12th on Sept. 20 at Citi Field to earn his first career save before a rough outing two days later in Atlanta that lifted his ERA over 3.00.
2026 outlook: Did the Nationals stumble onto something with this under-the-radar acquisition? Poulin had more success in his first two months in the big leagues than most would’ve expected from a 29-year-old rookie who never ranked on anyone’s prospects board.
He doesn’t have overpowering stuff, as evidenced by his 90.8 mph fastball. But he did manage to hold MLB hitters to a .229 batting average and .257 slugging percentage on that pitch, so it is deceptively effective. So is his sweeper, which hit just .208 against (though they did connect twice for home runs on it). The key may be Poulin’s changeup, which he throws exclusively to righties. Though they didn’t record any extra-base hits off that offspeed pitch, they did bat a healthy .304 against it.
The Nationals clearly have a top young left-handed reliever in Jose A. Ferrer, but they need another southpaw to emerge as a viable arm for situations in the middle-to-late innings. Poulin could assume that role, but he’s going to have to prove himself over more than two months to convince everyone he can stick long-term.
