Washington

Nationals

Mervis appeared to be crowded out of Triple-A Rochester by the acquisition of Curtis Mead. Mervis, still just 27, will seek new employment after playing just one game for Rochester in 2026.

He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out three. The run came right away in the first, as Trea Turner walked, stole second and then scored on a Kyle Schwarber liner to center that Jacob Young dove for but came up short on. It was a bad call from Young to attempt to catch it, but it actually worked out great for the Nationals since Schwarber was thrown out trying to take third after the ball bounced towards the wall. Cavalli went on to pitch his way out of a bases-loaded jam in the second and worked around the leadoff man reaching in the third and fourth before retiring seven batters in a row to finish the outing. It was a fine outing against a strong offense, and the Nationals have to be encouraged by the way he’s throwing. Still, he’s a risky fantasy pickup while pitching on a bad team with an especially poor defense.

The Nationals tried to piece things together in the ninth today. Clayton Beeter stranded two runners after coming in with one out in the eighth. He went on to retire Justin Crawford to start the ninth, but he was pulled in favor of lefty PJ Poulin after Trea Turner singled. Poulin walked Kyle Schwarber, got Bryce Harper to pop out and then walked Alec Bohm before being lifted in favor of Henry, who probably would have pitched to Bohm if not for the three-batter rule. Henry gave up a two-run single to Edmundo Sosa, tying the game at 5-5, before walking Adolis García and retiring Brandon Marsh. Henry then remained in for the 10th after the Nationals failed to score in the top of the inning and took the loss after giving up singles to both batters he faced. Based on today’s results, Beeter’s stock should be up a little in comparison to Henry’s. Still, those two might go back and forth a few times. Plus, Henry wasn’t actually charged with an earned run today, while Beeter was.

Eder had been designated for assignment by the Nationals over the weekend, so they will at least be able to get something for him. The 27-year-old had once been a high-upside prospect, but he has now failed to stick with the Marlins, White Sox, and Nationals. It’s a long shot that the Dodgers will find a way to change that trajectory. He will head to Triple-A Oklahoma City to see.

Lile doubled and singled twice. The 23-year-old somewhat quietly put together a strong 2025 campaign with an .845 OPS over 91 games, and while the sample is small, he’s backed it up to begin 2026 with a .409/.458/.545 slash over five games.

Littell worked behind an opener, and outside of a pair of solo homers allowed, he was relatively effective after PJ Poulin opened with a scoreless frame. Relatively being potentially too kind of word; he allowed six hits, two walks and only struck out one batter. The 30-year-old will likely work in a similar role going forward, and he would be lined up with a more-favorable matchup on paper against the Cardinals.

House has swung the bat well so far with an .824 OPS, but he’ll get a breather versus Andrew Painter in his MLB debut and the Philadelphia pitching staff. Jorbit Vivas will handle the hot corner and hit fifth while House rests.

García made five of his 13 starts in the field this spring at second base, but he’s only played first since the season started. He’s 4-for-14 with no strikeouts so far, but it’s discouraging for his fantasy value that the Nationals have benched him against both lefties they’ve faced. Of course, it’s harder to justify playing him at first base against lefties than it would be if he were a quality defender at second base.

Griffin’s stuff is pretty obviously below average, which is why he had to settle for a one-year deal with a bad team in spite of his success in Japan, but he commanded it well tonight and succeeded despite giving up eight hard-hit balls and generating just eight whiffs on 43 swings. He probably won’t have as much luck with the Dodgers next on the schedule.

Lord had to be pretty bummed to be tossed back into the pen, given that he was far more valuable last season that any of the Nationals’ other pitching holdovers. Still, it is questionable whether he really has the arm to survive as a starter for the long haul. Working two or three innings at a time in relief might prove to be his best role, and he could sneak in some saves in a wide-open Nationals pen.