Washington Nationals news & notes: Opening Day Josiah Gray – start of a new era…

It’s Opening Day for the Nationals, who take on the Reds in Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park at 4:10 PM ET…

Josiah Gray struggled in the second half of the 2023 campaign coming off of his first All-Star appearance, with a 5.79 ERA, a 5.40 FIP, and a .252/.372/.392 line against in 37 1⁄3 IP between July 16th-August 28th, but picked things up over the last month and finished a positive run overall.

Gray, now 26, posted a 2.95 ERA, a 4.94 FIP, and a .241/.322/.430 line against over his four starts and 21 1⁄3 innings on the mound in the month of September, lowering his ERA to 3.91 on the year, to go along with a 4.93 FIP, 80 walks, 143 strikeouts, and a .251/.345/.412 line against in 30 starts and 159 IP.

“I think anytime you can finish on a strong outing, it takes you into the offseason with a positive mindset,” he said after wrapping up his 2023 run.

“Feel like you can kind of check that box.

“I’ve been able to have a last couple good outings,” he explained, so he was, “… going into the offseason, knowing that some of the changes I’ve made over the last three outings have obviously [bred] results. So I can focus on those things, and look forward to the offseason being positive and getting back after it next year.”

Gray’s walks were up over his 2022 totals (80 in 159 IP, 4.53 BB/9; up from 66 in 148 2⁄3 IP; 4.00 BB/9 in ‘22), but the right-handed gave up 16 fewer home runs (22 total; 1.59 HR/9; down from a league-leading 38; 2.30 HR/9 in ‘22), and over the winter he went through a regimen similar to the one which prepared him for 2023.

“It’s been about pretty much the same offseason,” he said in late January in an MLB Network Radio interview before the start of Spring Training. “Tinkering with the sinker a little bit more to get some more run on it, but everything else has been status quo I guess you could say.”

“Obviously,” he added, “… still trying to refine everything in the mix, whether it’s the breaking ball, it’s the cutter, or the four-seam fastball, throwing the changeup a little bit more now too to see if we can get that front/back play. But yeah, it’s been a lot of things I’ve done in the past while trying to tinker with things and not make too many big adjustments but just trying to refine a little bit more.”

Having achieved all he did last season, the starter said he wanted to take the next step.

“I’m just naturally curious about, ‘What can I do next?’” he said.

Gray was named the Opening Day starter a couple weeks back, having shown the club’s brass he was ready to take another step in his development.

“A big moment for him last year was being in the All-Star Game. He got to pitch an inning and did really well,” Martinez said, as quoted by MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato, after giving Gray the nod for the 2024 season opener.

“So here’s the next step in his career, and I think he’s the right guy.”

For the 2018 2nd Round pick by the Reds, who was dealt to the Dodgers in late 2018, and debuted with LA in 2021, before he was dealt to Washington in the big Max Scherzer and Trea Turner trade that July, getting the Opening Day assignment was a clear sign of the progress he’s made in the past few years.

“‘Progress’ is probably the first word that comes to mind, because of how I’ve progressed through the league in the short amount of time I’ve been a Major Leaguer,” Gray told reporters.

“I just remember my first big league camp being with the Dodgers and getting cut and thinking how that feeling was, and to say you’re going to be our first arm out of Spring Training going into the season is really cool and really surreal.”

“He’s matured so much since the first day I saw him,” Martinez said.

“Even through the struggles of last year, he’s a lot different. Coming into camp, he’s been so much different as far as growth-wise. Understanding who he is, working on things he needs to work on, not trying to reinvent the wheel. … I’m proud of him. We asked him to do some things over the winter, and he’s done that. He’s come to camp in great shape and ready to go.”

Gray posted a 6.61 ERA, 13 walks, 25 Ks, and a .288 BAA in 16 ¹⁄₃ IP this spring, but he told reporters the work he put in over the last few weeks accomplished what he wanted to get done heading into the start of the regular season.

“Stat-wise, it wasn’t great,” he admitted, as quoted by MASN’s Mark Zuckerman, after his final spring start.

“You kind of look at it that way. But I always break it down outing by outing. … I think it was an okay spring. The things I’ve worked on have helped me elevate my arsenal. But I think there’s a lot of leaps still to be made. I’m just excited to get back to work tomorrow and see where we can get better.”

To get the Opening Day nod meant a lot to Gray, who said the trust of his skipper meant a great deal.

“To get the Opening Day nod, it shows the trust and the level of support I have from Davey, the front office, and everyone,” Gray said, as quoted by Washington Times’ writer Liam Griffin.

“I think last year, I proved to myself that, above all, that I can really do this at a level that I can really help the team win games … looking forward to just what this year brings and seeing what we can do as a team.”

How will Gray due on Opening Day, against the organization that drafted and then traded him? We’ll find out this afternoon…