WASHINGTON – A week after he achieved 10 years of Major League service time, veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas was designated for assignment by the Nationals on Wednesday.
The Nationals needed to clear a roster spot to call up No. 8 prospect Jackson Kent. The 23-year-old left-hander will make his Major League debut as the starting pitcher on Wednesday night against the Cubs.
“Look, it's never easy,” said manager Blake Butera. “Miles was an unbelievable person, unbelievable teammate. When we had to have this conversation with him after the game -- this sounds weird, because it was one of my favorite conversations that I'll probably hold on to for a long time -- he made some comments saying he forgot how fun baseball could be until he got here and was around this group. A lot of what he had to say made me feel really good about the way that we're going about our business and doing things.”
Mikolas, 37, signed a one-year deal with the Nationals in February. He went 3-9 with a 5.82 ERA in 25 appearances covering 116 innings. Mikolas often followed an opener to pitch the bulk of the game. He made one true relief appearance on Tuesday when he pitched the seventh, eighth and ninth innings out of the bullpen.
“I couldn't thank him enough for being the type of person he's been,” Butera said. “We've thrown a lot at him, from using an opener in front of him, to having him pitch a little bit shorter, to having him go to the bullpen to do a variety of things, and had a smile on his face every time. Somebody that's pitching in the big leagues as long as he has could have easily told me to go shove it and [that] he's not doing those things. But he didn't.”
Mikolas has pitched in 266 Major League games for the Nationals, Cardinals, Rangers and Padres with a career record of 75-84 and a 4.37 ERA. He also played in Japan from 2015-17.
“I think he wants to continue pitching,” Butera said. “He mentioned maybe out of the bullpen, he mentioned something about not having quite as much energy as he used to have to start, and something about his son wanting a cat, and he can't have the cat until he retires.”
The Nationals celebrated Mikolas’ 10 years of service time last week in Philadelphia. The team presented him with an engraved belt buckle to commemorate the coveted feat, which began on May 5, 2012, when he debuted with the Padres.
“It means a lot,” Mikolas said that night. “It’s been a pretty long and winding road to get here. A lot of hard work on my part, but also a lot of support from my wife and kids, my family at home, my parents, any trainer, strength coach, pitching coach, manager that I’ve had along the way has all been a big part of that. So it’s a body of work for a pretty large group of people.”
On Sunday night, the team celebrated with Mikolas following a matinee.
“His wife put on a really cool surprise party for him,” Butera said. “Almost every single person on the team was there. I told Miles that should show the type of person he was and the type of teammate he was, that even guys that just got called up from Triple-A who have only spent a small amount of time around Miles went to Alexandria, [Va.,] on a Sunday after a game to go be there with him. That was one thing that I’ll never forget was how many people showed up.”
Mikolas also memorably pinch-hit and successfully laid down a sacrifice RBI bunt on the eve of the milestone.
Kent will become the fifth player to make his Major League debut with the Nationals this season. He joins the big league club after going 9-4 with a 3.72 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 20 starts (94 1/3 innings pitched) between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester in 2026.