The Washington Nationals have added right-handed pitcher Miles Mikolas to their pitching staff amid the start of spring training.
Multiple reporters relayed the news that Mikolas has joined the Nats ahead of the 2026 MLB season, as he takes another step in his journey in the big leagues.
“Nats are signing veteran SP Miles Mikolas, sources tell Yahoo Sports,” Jake Mintz of Yahoo Sports shared via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
Mikolas' deal with the Nationals is reportedly at $2.25 million plus incentives, according to MLB insider Jon Heyman.
To clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Mikolas, the Nationals decided to place left-handed pitcher DJ Herz on the 60-day injured list, as announced by Nationals President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni (h/t MLB.com).
Herz went under the knife in April for a Tommy John surgery.
A two-time All-Star, Mikolas could be Washington's No. 1 starter, given the relative inexperience of the rotation. It remains to be seen what kind of impact he will have on the Nationals from the mound, but it's going to take the team more than just such a signing of the veteran Mikolas to completely turn things around on the pitching side.
In the 2025 season, Washington posted a 5.18 ERA among its starters — the second-worst in the big leagues. Only the Nationals and the Colorado Rockies (6.65) had a starters' ERA of 5.00 or worse in MLB that campaign.
The 37-year-old Mikolas had pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2018 to 2025. Before that, he played for the San Diego Padres and the Texas Rangers, and also spent years toeing the rubber in Japan.
During his seven-year tenure with the Cards, Mikolas went 68-69 with a 4.16 ERA and 4.18 FIP.
