Washington Nationals RHP Josiah Gray suffers a devastating injury set back

West Palm Beach, Fla. – The optimism that surrounded Josiah Gray this spring has dissolved into another medical report no pitcher wants to read. The Washington Nationals announced yesterday that the right-hander has been shifted to the 60-day injured list with a flexor-strain in his throwing arm, a diagnosis that effectively shelves him until at least late May and casts fresh doubt on a career already interrupted by nearly two lost seasons.

Gray, a 2023 National League All-Star, appeared on track to re-establish himself after Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the remainder of 2024 and all of 2025. He reported feeling healthy through most of camp, and while his fastball sat below pre-surgery velocity, the 27-year-old insisted the dip was temporary and that his secondary pitches were crisp. The Nationals optioned him to Triple-A Rochester to begin the year, viewing the assignment as a final stepping-stone rather than a setback.

Instead, the flexor issue has resurfaced—the same injury that first sent him to the IL in April 2024 before his elbow ultimately required reconstruction. Doctors now must determine whether rest and rehab will suffice or if another significant procedure awaits. The club has not provided a timetable beyond the minimum 60-day window.

Since making 30 starts and earning All-Star honors in 2023, Gray has logged only two big-league outings. Managerial plans for a rebound rotation anchored in part by his experience have again been scrapped, forcing Washington to lean on younger arms while Gray rehabs in Florida.

The development also rekindles scrutiny of the 2021 trade that brought Gray and catcher Keibert Ruiz from Los Angeles in exchange for franchise cornerstones Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Injuries and underperformance have muted the returns; Ruiz is working back from his own health issues, and Gray’s latest ailment further delays any hope of front-line production. Scherzer and Turner, meanwhile, became key contributors for the Dodgers during their pennant pursuits.

For now, the Nationals say they will proceed cautiously, mapping out a throwing program once Gray’s pain subsides. Team officials remain publicly supportive, citing pitcher Cade Cavalli’s successful return from a difficult Tommy John path as evidence that patience can pay off. Whether Gray can follow that model—or ever recapture the form that once made him a rotation building block—will not be answered until the summer at the earliest.

Washington opens its regular season Thursday without him, and the long road back for Josiah Gray has grown even longer.