When assessing the Nationals' roster, one specific area jumped out at president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.
“Where my head goes first is pitching -- starting pitching and relief pitching,” Toboni said at the Winter Meetings earlier this month.
Left-hander Foster Griffin has filled both roles, but he had spent the last three years in Japan reclaiming his career as a starter. Career goals and team needs aligned in Washington.
The Nats signed Griffin to a one-year contract that's reportedly worth $5.5 million and contains up to $1 million in incentives. This is Toboni’s first free-agent signing since being named president of baseball operations in October.
“It’s tough, so far, to wrap my head around it, to be honest with you,” Griffin said Tuesday on a Zoom with local media. “You hear about some guys going to Japan and coming back and getting deals. But to be honest with you, that was never at the front of my mind right when I left. I kind of just wanted to go out there and reestablish myself as a starter. I kind of felt like I got this little second chance at baseball, if you will, in my career by getting the opportunity to go to Japan.”
Griffin, 30, returns to MLB after three seasons with the Yomiuri Giants of Nippon Professional Baseball, where he went 18-10 and posted a 2.57 ERA across 315 2/3 innings. He was named an NPB All-Star in 2025 before being hampered late in the season by a right knee injury. He finished the season with a 1.62 ERA, only one home run allowed and 77 strikeouts in 78 innings.
“I learned how to be a starter again,” Griffin said. “To encompass that was, I learned how to do scouting reports a lot better; I learned how to take the data that I have versus the data of the hitter and compare those two things together, and then strategize my scouting report based off of that heading into a start. On top of that, I felt like I learned how to navigate a lineup. ... I was able to strategize as a starter a little bit more, especially with guys in scoring position. I just got a little bit more mature as a starter instead of just trying to get everybody out.”
Griffin will have the opportunity to contend for a spot in the Nationals' starting rotation. He would bring an experienced presence to the young group. Right-hander Trevor Williams, 33, is recovering from an internal brace procedure last July. The rotation currently includes southpaw MacKenzie Gore (who is at the forefront of trade buzz) and right-handers Jake Irvin and Cade Cavalli.
“Most relievers here in the big leagues have that really high velo fastball as well as some wipeout secondary pitch,” Griffin said. “I felt like the arsenal that I had in my back pocket was more of a starting-pitcher arsenal, and I feel like that was my wanting to get back to that. I just felt like I may not have a long-term career as a reliever with the arsenal that I had, and I felt like I had a better shot of a long-term career as a starter.”
A first-round Draft pick by the Royals out of high school in 2014, Griffin reached the Major Leagues in '20, but he sustained an injury in his MLB debut that required Tommy John surgery. Griffin returned to the mound in '22 before a midseason trade to the Blue Jays. He owns a 6.75 ERA in seven career appearances, all out of the bullpen (six with Kansas City; one with Toronto).
Griffin last appeared in a Major League game on Sept. 22, 2022. After he was released by the Blue Jays in November '22, Griffin signed a deal with Yomiuri.
“At first it was one year, and then one year turned into three years,” Griffin said. “It was an unbelievable experience, and I'm really excited to see what I've done over there and the changes I've made and how I developed as a pitcher, how that will translate back to the big league level.”
Last season, Nationals starters recorded the second-highest ERA in baseball (5.18) and ranked 26th overall in strikeout rate (7.56). As part of a revamped coaching staff, manager Blake Butera tabbed Simon Mathews as pitching coach and Sean Doolittle as assistant pitching coach.
“I feel like there's a great opportunity here,” Griffin said. “There’s this young wave of players and a lot of ability, a lot of natural talent that I see on the roster, as well as the front-office changes. I think everything's moving in a great direction.”