December 22: The Nats announced the signing of Griffin today.
December 16: Nationals will sign with the left hand Foster Griffinreports Robert Murray of FanSided. It will be a one-year, $5.5MM contract with another $1MM in incentives for the Excel Sports Management client. The Nats have a 40-man cap space and won’t need to make a corresponding move.
Griffin, now 30, has found a short major league game in the past few years. He made seven appearances, split between the Royals and Blue Jays, in the 2020 and 2022 seasons. He spent the last three years in Japan, playing for the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, with great success.
He threw 315 2/3 innings in those three campaigns, allowing a 2.57 earned run average per nine. He struck out 25.1% of the batters he faced, gave up just 5.1% to opponents and kept almost half the balls in play. In 2025, a leg injury limited him to just 78 innings but it was his best season in terms of run protection. He posted a 1.62 ERA with a 25.1% strikeout rate, a 5.9% walk rate and a 48.9% slugging percentage.
Despite the solid numbers, there are questions about how his stuff will translate to North American soccer. Griffin’s fastball only sits in the low 90s, which is soft by modern standards. He excels with a deep arsenal that includes a slider, cutter, changeup, splitter, curveball and two-seamer.
It has been a very busy winter for the boys returning to North America after going overseas. Cody Ponce he earned $30MM over three years with the Blue Jays. The White Sox offered Anthony Kay $12MM over two years. Drew Anderson he got one year and $7MM from the Tigers and Ryan Weiss he got one year and $2.6MM from the Astros. All pitchers have had some success in Japan or South Korea but the price difference may come down to the ingredients. Ponce is 6’6″ and 255 pounds with a fastball that averages in the high 90s with a split/kick change that is considered a plus pitch. Griffin isn’t small, listed at 6’3″ and 225 lbs., but his crafty, slow-throwing lefty profile is clearly different than Ponce’s.
It’s still an interesting package. Recent reports have indicated that teams are showing interest in Griffin and that he was prioritizing the opportunity to prove himself in a trade. Washington is a good landing spot for him.
The Nats have been rebuilding for years but have struggled to get back into contention. The slow progress has led to major changes, as the club has replaced almost its entire front office and coaching staff in the past few months. The new administration, led by baseball president Paul Toboni, is expected to focus on long-term goals. They are one of the clubs best suited to take a chance on an unproven arm like Griffin.
Right now, Washington’s rotation consists of the same guys MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Brad Lord, Griff McGarry, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and others. Gore has just two years left in free agency and is expected to be traded heavily this offseason. Cavalli and Gray haven’t ridden much in recent years due to Tommy John surgery. Lord had decent results as a swingman in 2025. McGarry is a Rule 5 pick with no major league experience yet. Irvin and Parker each logged more than 300 major league innings but each posted an ERA close to 6.00 this year.
In short, there is very little locked up at the position in Washington’s rotation, meaning Griffin has to shoot to hold the position. If he’s successful in the first few months of the season, he’ll likely end up in a trade, allowing the Nats to bring back some young talent in their rebuild. If it doesn’t work out, it’s a modest bet from the team’s point of view, although it’s a huge sum of money for Griffin himself.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Raj Mehta, Imagn Images
