Carson

Palmquist

It’ll be lefty Carson Palmquist taking the ball as Washington’s opener before turning things over to Littell for an extended relief outing. The 30-year-old veteran has routinely pitched behind an opener this season and boasts a pedestrian 5.29 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 49/25 K/BB ratio across 80 innings of work. He’s not a recommended fantasy option, especially with temperatures hovering in the triple-digits at Nationals Park during this Fourth of July mid-day affair.

Palmquist has allowed one run on two hits in 3 1/3 innings for the Nationals this season, but has a 6.00 ERA in 36 innings at Triple-A this season.

Palmquist heads back to the minors after throwing 58 pitches over 3 1/3 innings to open Wednesday’s contest against the Phillies. The 25-year-old lefty figures to rejoin Washington’s pitching mix in a couple weeks.

He takes the spot of Paxton Schultz, who was optioned out after last night’s loss. It’s Palmquist’s first major league stint with the Nationals, who claimed him off waivers from the Rockies last month. He had a 6.00 ERA and a 30/22 K/BB in 36 innings between Triple-A Albuquerque and Rochester this season.

Palmquist bolsters Washington’s left-handed pitching depth after posting a calamitous 8.91 ERA, 2.04 WHIP and 27/25 K/BB ratio across 34 1/3 innings for the Rockies last year. The 25-year-old southpaw represents a worthwhile zero-risk dice roll for the Nationals’ pitching development engine to see what he looks like away from Coors Field.

The Rockies needed to clear a spot on their 40-man roster for the addition of Chad Stevens on Thursday and unfortunately for Palmquist he was the odd man out this time. There’s a decent chance that he could pass through waivers unclaimed and continue to function as extra pitching depth for the Rockies.

Palmquist, 25, appeared in nine games for the Rockies in 2025 where he compiled an uninspiring 8.91 ERA and 2.04 WHIP across 34 1/3 innings. Given the Rockies’ overall lack of pitching depth, he’ll probably get another shot at the big league level at some point during the 2026 season.

Palmquist returns to the minors with Anthony Molina coming up for Tuesday’s game against Toronto. The 24-year-old rookie southpaw holds an inflated 8.91 ERA across 34 1/3 innings (nine appearances, seven starts) this season in the big leagues.

The Rockies had a couple of vacant spots in their bullpen after making a couple of deadline deals on Thursday so Palmquist will return to take one of them. The 24-year-old southpaw has registered a troublesome 7.63 ERA, 1.73 WHIP and a 22/18 K/BB ratio over 30 2/3 innings in seven starts for the Rockies this season. He’s expected to function as a long man out of the bullpen.

Palmquist will continue to shuttle back-and-forth between Colorado’s rotation and Triple-A Albuquerque for the remainder of the year. The 24-year-old southpaw allowed three runs over four innings on Saturday in a loss to the Diamondbacks. He boasts a lackluster 7.63 ERA across 30 2/3 innings (seven starts) this season in the majors.