The left-hander acquired from the Red Sox threw three scoreless innings, while the veteran right-hander was tagged for five runs.
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In the penultimate game of the regular season Saturday, the Washington Nationals relied primarily on two pitchers. One of them looks like a key part of the rotation for 2027 and beyond, and the other has serious work to do this winter if he wants to remain on the team.
Each pitcher validated the club’s view of him. Connelly Early looked sharp and relaxed, retiring nine of the 10 batters he faced in his Washington debut. Jake Irvin allowed five runs in five innings to seal a 7-1 loss to the New York Mets at Nationals Park.
When the Nationals acquired Early exactly two months ago, trading Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox for a starter with at least five seasons of team control, they knew he might not be able to contribute much this year. Boston put the left-hander, who has a career ERA of 3.24 in 21 starts, on the injured list July 1 with elbow inflammation. It was not serious, but the weather got in the way as he tried to get in rehab outings.
Against New York, he needed just 34 pitches to get through three innings, Washington being cautious with his pitch count heading into the offseason.
“I thought he looked really good,” Manager Blake Butera said. “He attacked hitters, he wasn’t afraid, threw a ton of strikes. Was happy with the performance.”
Early’s results Saturday are only part of the picture. Just getting back on the mound and ending the season healthy were his main priorities.
“Ever since getting traded, I wanted to be able to go out there and show what I can do,” he said. “Obviously felt really good just to be out there, have the guys behind me, and credit to all the work that the coaching staff and training staff have done with me, not just here but down in West Palm and in Rochester as well.”
Moving forward, Early should slot into the rotation alongside Cade Cavalli and Andrew Alvarez, who has all but secured himself a spot after pitching to a 2.78 ERA in the last two months of the season. The rest of the 2027 rotation, including Irvin’s future, is up in the air.
On Friday, as President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni gave his end-of-season news conference, he noted two pitching groups who are at inflection points of their careers. There’s the up-and-coming prospects, such as Jackson Kent, who are getting a taste of the majors but haven’t yet cemented their place. Kent pitched to a 5.94 ERA in eight games this year and could probably benefit from more time developing in Class AAA.
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The other group, Toboni said, is the established starters who haven’t performed. And if they don’t turn it around, they might be due for some tough conversations. The Nationals already designated Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas and Trevor Williams for assignment. That leaves Irvin as the next one on the ledge.
Irvin’s ERA (5.48) will be above 5.00 for the second straight season. After striking out six Mets, the right-hander finishes the year with the highest strikeout rate of his career at 23.4 percent. But he also allowed 20 home runs — including a go-ahead three-run shot to A.J. Ewing on Saturday — in 22 outings.
“At the end of the day, I see where this organization is headed,” Irvin said. “I know how great we’re going to be. I have to pitch a lot better.”
Throughout his career, Irvin has taken pride in eating innings. He surpassed 180 innings in 2024 and 2025, but a midseason shoulder injury limited him to 106⅔ innings this year.
Washington is not considering Irvin for a bullpen role, Butera said. The team also doesn’t want him to view himself as an innings eater, especially if he’s allowing as many runs as he is.
“We want him to dominate when he’s out there,” Butera said. “We think he’s capable of doing that. We are going to challenge him, and he already knows it, this offseason to work on his body, add some velocity and be able to maintain it throughout the outing.”
Irvin has held on to his spot this long in large part because he has not had any competition. If everything goes as the Nationals hope, that shouldn’t be the case heading into next year. With an offense this dominant and deep — albeit one that was held to three hits and struck out 14 times Saturday — a better rotation could be the key to contention.
DJ Herz, who will start Sunday’s finale, is healthy and will be an option. Josiah Gray or Riley Cornelio could be as well, although it’s unclear whether Washington sees them as starters or relievers moving forward. The team could, and probably should, sign or trade for a pitcher to round out the group.
Note: Sunday’s game between the Mets and the Nationals was moved from 3:05 to 1:05 p.m. because of inclement weather in the forecast.
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