The Nationals announced today that right-hander Matt Waldron, who they recently claimed off waivers from the Blue Jays, has been added to the active roster. Fellow righty Trevor Williams has been designated for assignment in a corresponding move.
Williams, 34, has mostly been a back-end starter or swingman throughout his career. He has a 4.43 earned run average in 1,026 career innings over 227 games, including 178 starts. He has been with the Nats since the start of the 2023 season.
Washington initially signed him to a two-year deal worth $13MM in December of 2022. The club was rebuilding at the time and mostly looking for a steady veteran to take the ball every five days and eat some innings. In the first year, that’s exactly what Williams did. He made 30 starts, logging 144 1/3 innings with a 5.55 ERA.
In 2024, he got out to a hot start. He made 11 starts through the end of May with a 2.22 ERA. He got some help from a .270 batting average on balls in play, 77.3% strand rate and 3.3% home run to flyball ratio but he also showed some improvements under the hood. His 21% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate and 46% ground ball rate were all notable improvements, as he finished 2023 with a 16.8% strikeout rate, 8% walk rate and 39.5% ground ball rate.
Unfortunately, a flexor strain put him on the injured list at that point. He returned late in the year to make two more starts and was re-signed to a two-year, $14MM deal for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, but that deal quickly went south. His numbers regressed in 2025, with a 6.21 ERA and 17.4% strikeout rate over 17 starts, before an elbow sprain sent him to the IL. He required internal brace surgery in July.
He began this season on the IL, still recovering from that surgery. He was activated at the end of July and has been in a long relief role since then. He has tossed 17 innings over eight appearances. For what it’s worth, his numbers have been strong in that small sample. He has a 2.65 ERA, 31% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 47.6% ground ball rate.
It might seem a bit cold to cut a veteran from the roster while he’s actually putting up good numbers but it might be a kindness, as it will give Williams a chance to potentially latch on somewhere else. If he is with another club by September 1, even on a minor league deal, he would be eligible for that club’s postseason roster.
First, now that he has been designated for assignment, he’ll have to be placed on waivers. Though he has good numbers this season, his larger track record and $7MM salary will likely contribute to him clearing. He has enough service time to reject an outright assignment and elect free agency while keeping that money. The Nats might skip that formality and release him. One way or another, he will look to latch on with another team in the coming days.
For the Nats, they flirted with contention this year but are now 9.5 games back of a playoff spot. With the month or so remaining in the season, they will give innings to guys who are younger and controllable and therefore more likely to contribute to the club’s future.
Photo courtesy of Jim Cowsert, Imagn Images
