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Miguel Cairo's Comments Create Cloudy Future for Struggling Nationals Pitcher

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Aug 25, 2025 2:43 PM ET

The Washington Nationals have not gotten good performances on the mound this season.

Outside of MacKenzie Gore, who put together an All-Star campaign in the first half and has kept his strong season going, there are not a whole lot of pitchers in the mix that anyone could point to as the future of this franchise.

Cade Cavalli's return does give more optimism about finding a starter to put behind Gore, and the emergence of Brad Lord has been a great development, even if he has struggled when going through the order a third time.

But Trevor Williams was a bust of an offseason signing before underdoing elbow surgery. DJ Herz had to undergo Tommy John surgery as well. Shinnosuke Ogasawara was converted into a reliever. And Jake Irvin has regressed.

However, the most disappointing development for the Nationals this year might be the decline of Mitchell Parker, with the left-hander going from a solid back-of-the-rotation guy to virtually unplayable based on his performance this season.

Future of Mitchell Parker Is Cloudy

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With a 6.01 ERA across 26 starts and a major league-leading 90 earned runs allowed, there is a real chance Washington looks to move away from using the left-hander, something that didn't seem possible after he threw 6 1/3 scoreless innings in his season debut and posted a 3.19 ERA in April.

But he has not been good for the better part of the year, and with just 87 strikeouts in 134 2/3 innings pitched, Parker hasn't shown much that suggests the Nationals should keep their faith in him, especially with the 53 walks he's also allowed.

Interim manager Miguel Cairo was blunt when talking about the future of Parker in the rotation, stating, "We're trying to figure out here who can do the job," per Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post.

Still years away from reaching arbitration, pulling the plug on the 25-year-old at this stage of his big league career would be a tough decision to make, but it seems clear that he needs to work on more things in the minors, a move that could happen to close out the season.

Washington doesn't have many replacements for the lefty, though, which also could force their hand when it comes to keeping him on the MLB roster. However, players only get so many chances, and based on how he has performed in 2025 combined with the comments made by Cairo, it seems like Parker's could be running out.