It’s not the kind of major splash everyone’s been waiting for, but the Nationals have signed a couple of free agents in recent days who could pitch their way onto the roster in 2025.
The Nats signed left-hander Konnor Pilkington and right-hander Clay Helvey to minor league contracts with invitations to spring training, adding a pair of pitchers who will compete for jobs in big league camp.
Pilkington, 27, has some major league experience, appearing in 16 games (11 of those starts) for the Guardians in 2022-23 with decent results. He sports a 3.75 ERA with 52 strikeouts in 60 innings, though he also walked 33 batters while compiling a 1.450 WHIP.
Originally a third round pick of the White Sox in 2018 out of Mississippi State, Pilkington was traded three years later to Cleveland for a name familiar to Nationals fans: Cesar Hernandez (who played in D.C. in 2022). The Diamondbacks then purchased him in May 2023, and he spent the majority of the last two seasons at Triple-A Reno, going 3-5 with a 5.91 ERA, 1.764 WHIP and 79 strikeouts in 77 2/3 innings in 2024.
Pilkington, whose fastball averages 92-93 mph, has mostly run into trouble when he can’t throw strikes. He has averaged 4.6 walks per nine innings throughout his minor league career.
