Nationals agree to $5.5M deal for 2026 with lefty Foster Griffin, AP source says

By: Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press Posted: 2:38 PM CST Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025

Left-hander Foster Griffin and the Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract for 2026, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

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Left-hander Foster Griffin and the Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract for 2026, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

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Left-hander Foster Griffin and the Washington Nationals agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract for 2026, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was spending the completion of a successful physical exam.

Griffin, who pitched in Japan for the Central League’s Yomiuri Giants the past three years, is the first free agent signing for new Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, hired by the team in late September.

FILE - Yomiuri Giants pitcher Foster Griffin throws to the Chicago Cubs in the first inning of an MLB Japan Series exhibition baseball game in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

The 30-year-old Griffin was a first-round pick by the Kansas City Royals in Major League Baseball’s 2014 amateur draft and made his big league debut with that franchise in 2020.

Griffin also appeared with the Royals and Toronto Blue Jays 2022, and his full experience in the majors consists of seven games, all in relief, with a 1-0 record and a 6.75 ERA.

Toboni is beginning the job of reconstructing the Nationals, who fired president and general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July. They have endured six consecutive losing seasons since winning the World Series in 2019, including a 66-96 record this year that placed Washington 14th out of 15 clubs in the National League.