The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

First off, Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season to you and yours. Ten years ago, Santa delivered Daniel Murphy on Christmas Eve to Washington Nationals fans. Those were the good times.

Christmas is here. For many baseball players with no confirmed destination for 2026, the pressure builds to decide and then make personal plans for moving, home, family, and school, among other things. In spite of many substantial signings, the roster of available free agents is still sizeable. There are many talents yet in play that not only would upgrade the Nationals but would do so at positions of need and would work within a budget comparable to last year.

It took six days to make the rumored signing of Foster Griffin official, and by doing so, President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, has now signed his first MLB free agent during his Nats’ tenure. The lefty pitcher had success in his three years in Japan.

With Trevor Williams expected to start the season on the 60-day IL, Griffin also gets penciled in as the oldest member of the pitching staff at the ripe age of 30. A former 1st round pick in the 2014 draft, he began his career in the KC Royals organization and was eventually traded to the Toronto Blue Jays. Between the two teams, he pitched in seven career games, all in the bullpen. Griffin then signed with the Yomiuri Giants in Japan and found success with a combined career 2.57 ERA in Japan — and that is a mark which is better than what Shota Imanaga finished with in Japan at 3.18.