Washington Nationals hats and gloves in the dugout against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the sixth inning at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Struggling Nationals Starter Being Moved to Bullpen for Rest of Season

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Matt Postins | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 7:35 PM ET

The Washington Nationals haven’t had a great starting rotation this season. They had hoped Mitchell Parker would elevate his game in his second season.

Well, that’s hasn’t happened. On Friday, Washington Post writer Spencer Nusbaum reported on X (formerly Twitter) that Washington intends to move Parker to the bullpen for the remainder of the season. Interim manager Miguel Cairo didn’t provide much context pre-game, but Parker did and said he understood and would learn on the fly. He made just four relief appearances in his minor league career.

The Nationals have less than 10 games remaining this season, so demoting Parker isn’t an opportunity for a reset and doesn’t feel like punishment. It feels like Washington hoping to give another pitcher a chance to start in his spot with the season that remains.

Mitchell Parker’s Lost Season

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Parker was installed in the rotation from the beginning of the season. The hope was that he would form a solid 1-2 southpaw punch with MacKenzie Gore, one of the National League’s top strikeout pitchers and an NL All-Star selection this year. But Parker never got on track.

In 30 starts he is 8-16 with a 5.85 ERA. In 158.1 innings — just seven more innings than he threw a season ago in 29 starts — he allowed 175 hits, 103 earned runs and 25 home runs, all of which were well above last year’s totals.

He had 101 strikeouts and 57 walks. Batters hit .277 against him and he had a 1.47 WHIP. He did win a game this month, defeating Miami on Sept. 9. Before that, he went seven straight starts without a win, dating back to his victory over Minnesota on July 26.

Parker broke in last season as a rookie and went 7-10 with a 4.29 ERA in 29 starts. He showed some promise, fanning 133 hitters in 151 innings and only allowing 43 walks. Batters hit .259 against him and he had a 1.30 WHIP.

He was the Nationals’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 MLB draft out of San Jacinto Community College in Texas. That year’s draft was truncated to five rounds due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He methodically worked his way through the minor league system, reaching Triple-A Rochester by the end of 2023. But, he only pitched 14.1 innings of Triple-A baseball before he was promoted to the Majors for the first time and he has not been back to Rochester since.

This article first appeared on Washington Nationals on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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