Well, the Washington Nationals have made a free agent signing. It is not exactly a sexy addition, but according to Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports the Nats have signed Miles Mikolas. The 37 year old Mikolas had been with the St. Louis Cardinals since 2018. At his peak, he was a solid mid rotation starter but now he is a true innings eater.
This is not going to be a pretty season for the Nats pitching staff, and they need bodies to soak up innings. That is exactly what Mikolas can do. Mikolas has thrown at least 155 innings every season since 2022, and has made at least 31 starts every year in that time. The results have not been amazing in that time, with a 4.51 ERA over the last four years, but he takes the ball every fifth day.
After a disastrous 2024, where Mikolas posted a 5.35 ERA, he bounced back slightly in 2025. He posted a 4.84 ERA in 31 starts last year. Mikolas is a control first starter. He has walked less than two batters per 9 innings for his career. That allows him to go deep into games and give his team a chance to win. Since 2022, he is tied for the second most starts by a pitcher.
This is obviously not a flashy addition, and I think there were more interesting innings eating options available. However, he can be a mentor for the young pitchers and take the ball every fifth day. I cannot say I am exactly excited by this news, but I understand the appeal I guess.
Maybe Simon Mathews can do something to help him out, but old dogs like this do not really learn new tricks. One potential option could be to just really trim his 4-seam fastball usage, but he does not really have a standout secondary pitch either. This really is just the epitome of an innings eater.
Mikolas actually does have some history with the Nats. Back in the 2019 playoffs, he and Juan Soto had a bit of a feud over the Soto shuffle. Mikolas was not a fan of the move, and when he got Soto out, he grabbed his crotch as retribution. So, there is that.
I am not a massive fan of this move because I do not see any real upside, but someone has to eat those innings. With Mikolas in the fold, I wonder how the rotation will look. Before his addition, the rotation consisted of Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Jake Irvin and Foster Griffin. It will be interesting to see which one of those five get the boot.
Lord was much more effective in a relief role last season, so that could be the plan. Gray’s spot will be dependent on how he looks this spring. He has missed a lot of time due to injury and we will have to see what his stuff looks like. In a rotation full of question marks, the Nats now have a proven commodity in Miles Mikolas.
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