WASHINGTON -- For the past 17 months, each day DJ Herz spent at the Nationals' training complex recovering from Tommy John surgery felt like “forever” to the southpaw. Then, on Tuesday, he looked up and he was in Fredericksburg, Va., to make his first rehab start above the Rookie level.
“[It] was a grind, but that's part of it,” Herz said on Monday. “You get better in those type of ways, and mentally and physically.”
Herz, 25, began a rehab assignment with the Single-A FredNats on Tuesday night against the Salem RidgeYaks. He threw 2 2/3 innings, allowing one run on four hits, zero walks and three strikeouts. Herz located 29 of his 38 pitches for strikes.
Herz underwent Tommy John surgery in April of 2025. He threw off the mound for the first time in mid-March while in Major League camp with the Nationals.
Herz made two scoreless starts in the Florida Complex League this month, building up to three innings on Thursday.
“You get new spikes the first time you do something,” Herz said. “The first bullpen, you get good spikes and you feel great. Then it starts to go down a little bit, but then you go back up. Then you look back, and it’s trending upwards. Then you get to the first live, and it feels great. Then the next lives get a little bit more grindy.
“And then you get to the first start [in the FCL], and it was awesome. You think I wouldn't get much adrenaline in Florida, playing games there. But when you’re out this long, I was getting some pretty good adrenaline.”
Herz, who was acquired from the Cubs in the 2023 Jeimer Candelario trade, made his Major League debut on June 4, 2024. In 19 starts that season, he went 4-9 with a 4.16 ERA and 10.8 K/9 rate in 88 2/3 innings. Herz contended for the final starting rotation spot the next Spring Training.
“DJ has been champing at the bit to get back on the mound, so I'm just excited to see him out there,” manager Blake Butera said on Monday. “Everything so far -- the reviews in terms of what he's looked like coming out of this surgery -- has been really, really positive. I know how much work he's put in and how long of a process this is.”
The Nationals are not putting a timetable on Herz’s return to the big leagues. Herz expects to make at least two to three starts in Fredericksburg before advancing to Double-A Harrisburg.
“Over these 17 months, you learn patience and learn to take it day by day,” Herz said. “When you worry about what you’ve got to do in your day to get better, all those things will work out.”