The Nationals have signed right-hander Trevor Gott to a minor league deal, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports. The contract presumably contains an invitation for Gott to attend Washington’s big league Spring Training camp.
Gott returns to the District for the second time in his career, as he posted a 7.39 ERA over 28 innings with the Nats from 2016-18. This disappointing performance came on the heels of Gott’s strong 2015 rookie season with the Angels, but after the Nationals acquired the righty in a trade for Yunel Escobar during the 2015-16 offseason, Gott battled injuries and ineffectiveness while being shuttled up and down from the majors and Triple-A.
After being dealt to the Giants prior to the 2019 season, Gott struggled again in 2020 and didn’t pitch in the big leagues at all until resurfacing with the Brewers in 2022. The 2022-23 seasons saw Gott establish himself as a solid innings eater out of the Brewers, Mariners, and Mets bullpens, as Gott delivered a 4.17 ERA, 23.7% strikeout rate, and 6.9% walk rate over 103 2/3 innings.
Despite this success, the Mets chose to non-tender Gott following the 2023 campaign, and he caught on with the Athletics on a one-year, $1.5MM deal for the 2024 season. Unfortunately for Gott, he had to undergo a Tommy John surgery in March 2024, and it has now been over two years since his last appearance in a Major League game. He inked a minor league deal with the Mariners last winter, but after returning to game action at the start of May, Gott had a 7.40 ERA over 20 2/3 innings in the minors.
Now entering his age-33 season and more fully recovered from his TJ procedure, Gott heads to Washington’s camp looking to show what he still has left in the tank. A strong Spring Training might well win Gott a job, as the Nationals have plenty of openings in the bullpen after their relief corps was the league’s worst in 2025. Gott could be one of many veteran pitchers the Nats bring to camp on non-roster invites as they look for some bargains or hidden gems to help round out their pen.