Battling through a third consecutive season of injuries, Josiah Gray began a rehab assignment with Single-A Fredericksburg on Tuesday.
The right-hander pitched one inning out of the bullpen against the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (White Sox). He allowed two hits and one run, with no walks and one strikeout. Gray threw 15 pitches, including 11 strikes and one wild pitch.
“[I’m] really excited for him,” manager Blake Butera said. “Just being on the mound, regardless of how it goes, obviously hope he comes out healthy, but just for him to be on the mound again pitching in a game where they’re keeping score and there’s two different uniforms and all that stuff is just really exciting when you have that long of a road and the battle that he’s had. I’m really happy for him.”
Gray was trending toward a return to the Nationals’ starting rotation this year after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2024, but he was diagnosed with a right flexor strain in March. He only appeared in two games during Spring Training prior to the re-injury.
Gray, 28, last pitched in a Major League game on April 4, 2024. The previous season, he earned his first All-Star selection.
“I think at the end of the day with how long he’s been out and what he’s had to go through, I think the first thing is, let’s just see how he does tonight and take this thing step by step rather than trying to say, ‘All right, in three weeks we’re going to be here, this is where he’s going to pitch and this is how long he’s going to go,’” Butera said. “I don’t think that’s fair to him or us.”
Gray is one of three starting pitchers rehabbing for the Nationals. Left-hander DJ Herz underwent Tommy John surgery last year, and southpaw Connelly Early was sidelined by left elbow inflammation when he was acquired from the Red Sox in late July.