Mikolas' desire to revamp with Nats a welcome surprise for Butera

WASHINGTON -- It was during his first conversation with Miles Mikolas, before the Nationals had even signed the free-agent pitcher, that first-year manager Blake Butera was taken aback.

Mikolas, an 11-year veteran, had every right to be unwilling to take advice. But on the hunt for any Major League team willing to take a chance on him after he posted a 4.84 ERA with St. Louis in 2025 and averaged just five innings per start (31 starts), Mikolas surprised Butera.

Mikolas was open to change.

And not just the “pitching behind an opener” type of change. He was open to reinvention.

So, when Mikolas signed a one-year deal with Washington on Feb. 11, the club and the right-hander got to work.

“The first time it stood out to me was our Zoom call we had during free agency, where he basically said ‘I think I can still get better,’” Butera recalled on Sunday. “And then [pitching coach Simon Mathews] bringing up some ideas and Miles being pretty excited about what Simon saw and what we can make adjustments to.”

That video call, and the conversations that have happened in the months since, all speak to Mikolas’ desire to remain in the game and find ways to contribute. And for a young team, having a veteran willing to change -- and to change his routine in some drastic ways -- has helped garner more buy-in from all over the roster.

“It just sets the tone for the rest of the group, in terms of like, ‘Hey, we can all get better, we can all improve, regardless of our past or how long we’ve been in the big leagues or success we have or haven’t had,’” Butera said. “Yeah, it goes a long way.”

It helps that the changes Mikolas and the Nats have made are paying off. In Sunday’s 10-1 win over Seattle, taking the mound behind an opener for the eighth time this year, Mikolas delivered his best outing in arguably two years: seven scoreless innings with three hits and three strikeouts. It was the first time he completed seven innings since June 11, 2024.

“It was an unbelievable performance by him,” Butera said. “What, to retire like 13 in a row at one point? Man, it’s just unbelievable stuff. Attacked the zone, didn’t walk anybody. … It was just impressive to say the least.”

And it wasn’t just the box score that showed growth -- Mikolas’ velocity was up, too.

For just the second time this season, Mikolas reached 97 mph -- delivering a 97.1 mph fastball on his ninth pitch of the game, a ball to Jhonny Pereda. The hardest Mikolas threw in 2025 was 96.7 mph. Eleven of his 2,483 pitches in 2025 were 96-plus mph; the last time Mikolas threw 97 mph at least once was in 2022, when three of his 3,152 offerings were above 97 mph (97.1 once, 97.3 twice).

More than four years. That’s how long it’s taken for Mikolas to reach that mark again.

So, what’s changed? It’s not just his mechanics -- which he has altered. Mikolas has revamped his entire routine, from his start days to his rest and recovery to his bullpen sessions.

“My stuff I've been working on mechanically, with the pitching coaches, with Simon, [has] been really good,” Mikolas said. “I've been feeling really good. All my stuff in the training room, the strength coaches, it's full-body work, and everyone here has been great, helping me get back to where I want to be physically.

“[I’m] trying to stay in my back side a little bit better, not pushing out from the mound and kind of losing my center, just letting everything work around my head and be a little bit more balanced, and just kind of letting it rip.”

The mechanics, which enable Mikolas to “let it rip,” aren’t the only change. Before, Mikolas would have heavy weightlifting sessions the day after starts. Now, he’s shifted to more active rest -- dynamic stretching and flexibility work, body weight and medicine-ball exercises, running on the field and riding a stationary bike. He still lifts “heavy” on his bullpen session days, but nowhere near what he did in his younger days.

“Somewhere along the line, my mechanics and what I was doing -- sometimes it happens really slowly and you don't realize it, and then, like, one day you wake up and you're like, ‘I still feel good, but it just doesn't seem like it's there,’” Mikolas said. “I think it also goes into the willingness to kind of change my routine a little bit. I've changed my workout routine a little bit, so I'm not lifting as much as I used to as I get older. Lifting maybe one time in between starts kind of heavy, instead of two [times], so my body feels really fresh.

“The whole staff here has been great about getting me kind of on their program -- like what they see and what they envision for me. After a couple down years, I was more than ready to listen to anything that they had to say.”

The one-year contract with the Nationals gave Mikolas a chance. A chance to extend his career, to keep pitching and, in the process, reinvent himself. He’s taken that chance by the horns and isn’t letting go anytime soon.

“He got frustrated early on, not seeing the success right away, but now that he’s kind of gotten into a groove here, he’s been a lot of fun to watch pitch and [has] ton of confidence,” Butera said. “He’s willing and wants to do anything he can to help us win, whether that’s throwing seven innings or throwing three innings. Whenever his name is called, he wants the ball.”