The Guardians have acquired left-hander Foster Griffin from the Nationals, as first reported by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum reports that Washington will receive four players — left-handers Will Dion and Josh Hartle, right-hander Kendeglys Virguez, and outfielder Nick Mitchell.
Griffin signed a one-year, $5.5MM free agent deal this past winter, as the rebuilding Nationals took a flier on a veteran lefty after he enjoyed three successful years in Japan. Griffin’s prior MLB experience had consisted of just eight innings of 6.75 ERA ball with the Royals and Blue Jays in 2020-22, but he revived his career by posting a 2.57 ERA and a 25.1% strikeout rate over 315 2/3 innings with the Yomiuri Giants from 2023-25.
The breakout carried over to the majors, as Griffin basically replicated that performance over 22 starts for the Nationals. Griffin has as 3.15 ERA, 22.1K%, and an excellent 5.7% walk rate to show for his 129 1/3 innings in a Nats uniform, and his strong performance earned a selection to the NL All-Star roster.
While his walk rate is elite, Griffin’s under-the-hood numbers are mostly average, and he has benefited from a .256 BABIP. Griffin’s ability to generate grounders should serve him well playing in front of the Guardians’ solid infield defense, and Cleveland’s vaunted pitching development staff might be able to offer a fix or two for Griffin over the remainder of the 2026 season.
The Guardians’ solid rotation only gets stronger with Griffin in the mix. The southpaw figures to slot alongside Parker Messick and Gavin Williams as the top three starters in a potential playoff series, with Tanner Bibee and Joey Cantillo rounding out the top five. Slade Cecconi could get bumped to a depth role or to the bullpen in the wake of today’s trade. These five pitchers have (remarkably) combined to start all but one of Cleveland’s games this season, so Griffin adds some flexibility for the Guards in giving the rotation extra rest, or some insurance if the injury luck finally runs out.
The trade is in some ways a “you can never have too much pitching” type move for the Guardians, given that their larger needs are on offense. Cleveland did address the lineup in other deadline-day trades for Jo Adell and Nathaniel Lowe, but the Griffin add helps the Guards double down on their run prevention as they battle with the White Sox and Twins for the AL Central title (or at least a wild-card berth).
While giving up four players for a deadline rental isn’t usually the Guardians’ style, perhaps the team is a little more motivated to be aggressive considering their tight playoff race, or the weak state of the American League in general. Griffin’s price tag was also surely a factor for the low-spending Guards, as he is owed only around $1.79MM for the remainder of the season.
From Washington’s perspective, obtaining four players is a very nice coda on the investment in Griffin. Not only did his quality pitching help keep the Nationals unexpectedly competitive through four months, but the trade return is probably better than the Nats would’ve expected to receive back in the offseason, when Griffin was surely signed with an eye towards flipping him at the deadline.
Since the Nationals were still over the .500 mark before their ongoing five-game losing streak, it wasn’t even clear whether or not Griffin would even be dealt, or if the Nats might instead add pitching in a push for a wild card slot. Speaking with the Washington Post’s Danielle Allentuck and other reporters today, Nats president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said the team “clear desire to want [Griffin] around,” and confirmed reports that the two sides discussed a contract extension.
Dion is the only member of the quartet with any big league experience, as he has posted a 4.58 ERA and very impressive 29.4% strikeout rate and 3.5% walk rate over 19 2/3 innings since making his MLB debut with Cleveland earlier this season. The 26-year-old was a ninth-round pick in the 2021 draft, and the 2026 season marked the first time Dion has been utilized as a full-time reliever.
The move to the pen has provided intriguing results, between Dion’s work in the majors and the 3.62 ERA, 35.1K% and 4.7% walk rate he posted across 37 1/3 innings this year for Triple-A Columbus. His velocity has gone up a tick but only to 91.6mph, as the bigger change is that Dion has incorporated a cutter into his arsenal, while utilizing his curveball and slider a bit more often at the expense of his changeup.
Dion can probably step into Washington’s bullpen immediately, while Hartle is likely the prize of the prospect bunch, as MLB Pipeline ranked him 25th on their list of all Guardians minor leaguers. The 23-year-old has a 3.86 ERA over 93 1/3 innings and 19 Double-A starts this year, relying heavily on grounders and soft contact rather than big strikeout numbers. This sort of low-strikeout, low-velocity approach is less common in today’s game, but Hartle has gotten decent results to date, even if it isn’t clear if he’ll be able to carry it forward as a starting pitcher.
Virquez is the opposite type of pitcher, as he has posted some eye-popping strikeout numbers while battling his control over five pro seasons. The 22-year-old former international signing only just made his Double-A debut less than a week ago, but Virquez could potentially be on the radar for a big league call-up in 2027 depending on how he develops as a relief specialist in the Nats’ system.
Mitchell has played at all three outfield positions while hitting .240/.358/.360 in 329 Double-A plate appearances this year, with five homers and 19 steals (out of 23 attempts). A fourth-round pick for the Blue Jays in the 2024 draft, Mitchell was dealt to the Guardians as part of the four-player trade that brought Andres Gimenez to Toronto in December 2024.
Inset photo courtesy of Brad Mills – Imagn Images
