Given the swingman role he occupied last season with the Mets, there was speculation Trevor Williams would bring similar versatility to the Nationals’ pitching staff next season after the right-hander signed a two-year, $13 million deal with Washington. Perhaps that will still occur, in time.

But Williams clarified Tuesday there isn’t much ambiguity when it comes to his role for 2023: He signed to start every fifth day, which he did exclusively for the Pirates from '17-20. Speaking with the local media for the first time Tuesday on a Zoom call, Williams called the opportunity to transition back into a full-time starter the driving force in his decision to sign with Washington.

“The clarity when we talked was that I will be in the rotation,” Williams said. “I have the ability to do both, but to add some stability to the rotation and be able to post up 30-plus times a season is something that I think is going to be asked of me to do, and that's why it was it's a tremendous opportunity for me. And I'm looking forward to doing that.

“My preference was to start, and we had a couple of teams on me for starting jobs and we had a few teams on me for relieving jobs. … For me, it's just a matter of how much the team valued me and what role it was going to be.”

The Nationals have made bolstering their pitching depth the main focus this winter, after their young and inexperienced rotation posted the highest ERA (5.97) in the Majors last season. The 30-year-old Williams now profiles as their No. 5 starter behind MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray and Patrick Corbin. Williams went 35-39 with a 4.49 ERA in 119 games (106 starts) for the Pirates and Cubs from 2016 until a midseason trade to New York in '21.

He went 3-5 with a 3.21 ERA in 30 games (nine starts) in 2022, doing a little bit of everything for a Mets team with a star-studded but injury-prone staff. Eight of the 21 relief appearances Williams made were of at least three innings, and he finished five games while being credited with one save. It was the type of role the Nationals could ask several righties on the roster to fill this season, including Paolo Espino, Cory Abbott and Rule 5 pick Thad Ward.

“I've always been a starter my entire career, and so when I was traded, I kind of had to learn how to swing on the fly with the Mets,” Williams said. “I liked the role. I did, especially doing it for that team last year. I was glad [Mets manager] Buck [Showalter] trusted me in that spot. But as far as a preference goes, I like preparing for my one day every five days. I love watching the other starting pitchers from the side and not from the bullpen. I love being in a rotation and posting up for those five guys. It's something that I've always loved to do.

"I didn't like preparing for games last year, preparing for series and then not being able to pitch. So for me to prepare every five days knowing that it is my day and it's my day to go to work is something I'm looking forward to.”