Left-hander Foster Griffin is having a really good year for the Washington Nationals.
He’s 12-2 in 21 starts with a 2.76 ERA, 1.032 WHIP and only 28 walks and 113 strikeouts in 124 innings, and he was named to the National League All-Star team.
Can I stop for a minute and say “I told you so”?
Because I did tell you that the Cubs should have signed Griffin as a free agent, coming back from three years in NPB, in an article posted here last November 21.
What I wrote back then:
In three seasons in NPB, Griffin
posted a 2.57 ERA and 1.033 WHIP in 54 games covering 315.2 innings, with 78 walks and 318 strikeouts, both good ratios, and allowed just 18 home runs in that time.
This isn’t the sort of signing that would make big waves, or solve any large problem with the Cubs rotation. Nevertheless, I think the results Griffin has had in NPB could translate pretty well to MLB.
In fact, that is exactly what has happened. Griffin’s numbers in MLB this year pretty well match those NPB numbers. And as I noted in the article, the Cubs knew Griffin well as they had faced him in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants during their trip to Japan in March 2025.
The Nationals signed Griffin to a one-year deal for $5.5 million. That would have been a lot better use of that money than, say, signing Phil Maton.
Anyway.
The Nats are on the fringes of the wild-card race, currently tied with the Pirates, one game behind the Diamondbacks for the National League’s last wild card spot. So perhaps they’d be willing to do what some are terming “soft selling.”
Griffin would look good in the Cubs rotation for the rest of the year and would not be expensive. He turns 31 on Monday. He’s been healthy and productive, throwing at least six innings in 11 of his 20 starts.
Would you trade Kevin Alcántara to the Nationals for Griffin? I would. Maybe throw in an A-ball pitching lottery ticket.
What say you?
