The Nationals announced that left-hander DJ Herz will be activated off the 60-day injured list to start Monday’s game against the Tigers. Left-hander Jared Simpson was optioned to Triple-A today to open up a spot on Washington’s active roster, and the Nats still need to create space for Herz on the 40-man roster.
Herz will return to a big league mound for the first time in almost exactly two years, as his last outing came on September 25, 2024. That five-inning performance (in a 3-0 Nats loss to the Royals) was the 19th and final start of a solid rookie season that saw Herz post a 4.16 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 9.4% walk rate across his first 88 2/3 innings against MLB hitters.
These numbers seemed to line Herz up as a potential building block for the rebuilding Nationals, but the southpaw’s career was put on hold when he sprained his UCL during Spring Training 2025. The result was a Tommy John surgery that cost Herz the entire 2025 season, and another setback emerged when Herz suffered a flexor strain three starts into a minor league rehab assignment this year. Finally returning to action for good at the start of August, Herz has a 4.00 ERA in 18 innings over seven more rehab games.
Herz’s last outing for Triple-A Rochester saw him toss 65 pitches over 4 1/3 innings of one-run ball. The Nationals will probably limit Herz’s workload to roughly that same pitch count on Monday, and if all goes well, he might be able to make another start (or maybe a bullpen outing) before the 2026 season wraps.
Though Herz has gained almost two full years of MLB service time due to his elongated stint on the 60-day IL, he’ll still finish 2026 shy of the service time required to gain Super Two status and an extra year of arbitration eligibility. (MLBTR contributor Ethan Hullihen currently projects this year’s Super Two cutoff point as two years and 134 days of service time.)
This contractual detail is probably small potatoes for Herz compared to the relief of finally ending his lengthy injury absence. He is the second Washington pitcher this week to return from a Tommy John surgery and then a flexor strain, as Friday marked Josiah Gray’s first MLB game since April 2024.
The peace of mind gained from these late-season returns will help Herz and Gray enter the offseason with the goal of making the rotation in Spring Training. The newly extended Cade Cavalli is the only lock to be part of the D.C. rotation in 2027, though Andrew Alvarez is looking like an increasingly sure thing given his success as a starter. The Nationals figure to add at least one veteran arm to the mix, and whether that veteran is more of a one-year stopgap or a pricier signing will hinge on whether or not the club thinks it is ready to take a step forward into contention after a better-than-expected record in 2026.
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