Williams' return could help young starters get through season

Some 3 1/2 months since he last pitched for the Nationals, Trevor Williams took the mound this evening in Harrisburg for a long-awaited rehab start.

The right-hander, out since May 30 with a flexor strain in his elbow, tossed three scoreless innings in the Double-A game against Reading. And barring any setbacks, he’s likely to return to Harrisburg and build up to four or five innings Sunday afternoon, then be activated off the 60-day injured list and rejoin the Nats rotation.

“It’ll be nice to see him back on the mound for us before the season’s over,” manager Davey Martinez said. “So we’re going to try to build him up for that.”

Why are the Nationals so determined to get a 32-year-old pending free agent starts down the stretch of a season that won’t extend into October? It’s not just about giving Williams a chance to pitch a couple more times in the big leagues and perhaps help his cause as he looks for a job in 2025. It’s also about giving the four young starters who are a part of their future the best opportunity to finish the season healthy without being shut down early.

The Nats have been closely monitoring the workloads of MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz. Each has exceeded his previous career high in innings pitched, with three weeks still to go this season.

At times in the past, the club might have skipped over someone’s start or shut them down with a week or two to go, preserving their arm heading into the winter. In this case, the plan is to keep pitching them straight through Game 162, but hopefully giving them a little extra rest between outings by adding Williams as a sixth starter for the rest of the month.

“We’re definitely thinking a little bit ahead of the game,” Martinez said, “about next year and the progression for next year.”

Entering tonight’s series opener against the Braves, Gore has thrown 143 2/3 innings, up from 136 1/3 last season. Irvin leads the team (and ranks sixth in the National League) with 166 innings, up from 143 1/3 innings last year. Parker (124 to 140) and Herz (111 1/3 to 114 2/3) also have increased their totals from 2023.

Organizationally, the Nationals believe in increasing a young pitcher’s workload about 20 to 25 percent each year. Given how healthy and productive these four have been, all are nearing that figure with three weeks to go. Rather than shutting anyone down, though, they hope the addition of Williams to create a six-man rotation gives everyone some extra rest and allows them to finish out the season healthy and at an appropriate innings total.

If they pull it off, the Nats can only hope it makes a real difference in 2025.

“That would be really big for us moving forward,” Martinez said. “This has been a process to stretch them out, get them as many innings as we possibly can. It helps us for next year. If we’re competing and doing the things I think we’re capable of doing, we’re pitching for something in September, and these guys can pitch more innings for us.”