Gray will debut Monday, Ruiz goes to Triple-A for now

Josiah Gray, the top pitching prospect the Nationals acquired in this week's blockbuster trade with the Dodgers, will make his debut for the club Monday night, starting the series opener against the Phillies.

The Nats officially added Gray to their active roster this morning, giving him a day to get acclimated before he takes the mound for the first of what they hope is many starts in the coming years after making him one of their centerpiece acquisitions in exchange for stars Max Scherzer and Trea Turner.

"Everything I've heard about him, he's a great, great kid," manager Davey Martinez said during his pregame Zoom session with reporters. "Wants to put the work in. And he's very competitive. I'm looking forward to building a relationship with him, and moving forward watching him compete."

It's not Gray's major league debut; that happened 12 days ago in a relief appearance against the Giants. And it's not his first career start; that happened seven days ago against the Rockies. But it's the 23-year-old right-hander's first start in a Nationals uniform and will be accompanied by a different kind of pressure that comes from being hyped as a key prospect acquired in a massive trade.

Martinez said there will be no restrictions on Gray, who threw 79 pitches in his most recent start, allowing two runs in four innings, striking out six while walking four. The Nationals coaching staff is trying not to throw too much at him in advance of this outing, understanding he has enough swirling through his head right now as it is.

"My understanding is he's willing to learn, willing to try new things," Martinez said. "But we want him to go out there. He's been pitching well. We just want him to go out there and compete."

A second-round pick of the Reds in the 2018 draft who was later part of a seven-player trade with the Dodgers that also included Yasiel Puig, Matt Kemp, Alex Wood and Homer Bailey, Gray (who goes by "JoJo") had a 2.41 ERA and 0.934 WHIP in 198 minor league innings, striking out 10.4 batters per nine innings and was rated the Dodgers' second-best prospect at the time of this trade.

Gray's not a physically intimidating presence at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, but his fastball averaged 95 mph in his two big league appearances. He also throws both a curveball and slider to go along with an occasional changeup.

Gray becomes the second new prospect this week to join the Nationals' active roster after reliever Mason Thompson (acquired from the Padres for Daniel Hudson) was called up Saturday. There will be more to come this season, but the No. 1 prospect (Keibert Ruiz) acquired isn't joining them here quite yet.

Ruiz, the 23-year-old catcher who also came from the Dodgers, will report to Triple-A Rochester for now, Martinez said. Ruiz, who now rates as the Nationals' No. 1 prospect, will get acclimated for at least a little while before he is called up to make his Nats debut.

To make room for Gray on the current roster, the Nationals optioned reliever Tanner Rainey to Rochester. It was a bit of a surprise, not because Rainey's numbers were good, but because after the trades of Hudson and Hand, he and Kyle Finnegan appear to be the club's top late-inning arms.

Rainey, though, just came back from a stress reaction in his lower right leg and was thrust into the fray Thursday in Philadelphia. The Nationals want him to get into an every-other-day routine at Triple-A and get his command back before calling him up again.

"I spoke to him at length this morning. I just want him to go down and just focus on throwing strikes, getting his mechanics back," Martinez said. "Instead of keeping him up here and just trying to use him in high-leveage situations, I told him he'll go down there and pitch every other day. He was hurt, he's been hurt throughout this year. I explained to him that, in the future, him and Finnegan are going to close out games for us. I want him to just hone in on his mechanics and throw strikes."