Nationals Claim Braxton Roxby, Designate Zak Kent

The Nationals have claimed right-hander Braxton Roxby off waivers from the Giants and designated fellow righty Zak Kent for assignment, the club announced Thursday.

Roxby, 28 next spring, made his major league debut with the Giants in 2026. He tossed 5 1/3 innings and allowed a pair of runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts. The former Reds farmhand landed in San Francisco as part of the 2025 Taylor Rogers trade. He spent the majority of the 2026 season in Triple-A Sacramento, where he posted a 3.78 ERA, 23.1% strikeout rate, 10% walk rate and 38.9% ground-ball rate.

Roxby works off a three-pitch mix featuring a four-seamer, sinker and slider. The slider was his primary pitch both in the minors in both 2025 and 2026, and that held true in his big league cup of coffee. Since he was just selected to the majors for the first time late in the 2026 season, Roxby still has a full slate of three minor league option years remaining. He’s not a lock to last the entire offseason on the Nationals’ 40-man roster, but he’ll compete for a spot in a wide-open bullpen mix if he makes it to camp with Washington in 2027.

Kent, who’ll turn 29 in February, split the 2026 season between the Nationals and Twins organizations after bouncing around the waiver circuit for much of the 2025-26 offseason. He pitched 16 1/3 big league innings but was roughed up for a 5.51 ERA. He pitched well in a small sample with the Twins’ Triple-A club but posted pedestrian numbers with Washington’s top affiliate in Rochester.

Kent has appeared in two big league seasons and has a 5.03 ERA in a total of 34 innings. He enjoyed a strong Triple-A showing with the Rangers’ Round Rock affiliate in 2025. The 6’3″ righty sits 92.8 mph on his four-seamer and complements the pitch with a slider, curveball and seldom-used sinker. He’ll be out of minor league options next year, which makes him much likelier to clear waivers, at which point he could elect free agency and hope to find a minor league deal and non-roster invitation to spring training.