MLB Player News

Williams and Atlanta agreed on a minor-league contract Thursday.

Williams elected free agency Wednesday after being designated for assignment by Atlanta on Monday, but he will now return to the organization. The 29-year-old will look to impress with Triple-A Gwinnett in an attempt to potentially earn another shot with the major-league roster later this year.

Ribalta earned the save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one hit and striking out one in a scoreless 10th inning.

The right-hander worked around the automatic runner as well as a leadoff single, striking out Bryan Reynolds and then inducing a game-ending double play from Jake Mangum. Despite the admirable performance, Ribalta was the sixth pitcher to come out of the bullpen, and the Nationals didn't have many other options in the 10th. Still, the 28-year-old has quality stuff with a mid-90s fastball and a changeup that produced a 40.4 percent whiff rate in 2025, and if he continues to improve his control he could emerge as a high-leverage option. After walking 21 batters in 33.1 innings across three levels last year, Ribalta has issued only one free pass in 7.1 innings between Triple-A and the majors to begin 2026.

Beeter (1-0) earned the win but blew the save Thursday against the Pirates, allowing one run on one hit and two walks while striking out one in the ninth inning.

Given a 7-6 lead, Beeter struggled to find the plate and tossed just 19 of 32 pitches for strikes, allowing the game-tying run on a bases-loaded infield single by Brandon Lowe. It was the second blown save of the season for the 27-year-old right-hander, but Beeter was able to wiggle out of the jam with no further damage, and the Nationals bailed him out by taking the lead in the top of the 10th. Beeter will need to clean up his control issues if he's going to remain in the ninth-inning picture, as he has more walks (eight) than strikeouts (seven) in 9.1 innings so far on the season.

Griffin took a no-decision Thursday against the Pirates, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out seven in 5.1 innings.

It was smooth sailing for Griffin through four innings, but he ran into some trouble in the fifth after being handed a 4-0 lead. The 30-year-old allowed four runs of his own in the bottom of the frame, the biggest swing being a three-run home run from Marcell Ozuna. That blast snapped a streak of three straight starts in which the lefty had allowed two runs or fewer. On the bright side, Griffin has 19 strikeouts through 20.2 innings to begin the season, showing a little more dominance than anticipated. His next scheduled start will come against Atlanta, fourth in MLB with 24 home runs, early next week.

Ashcraft settled for a no-decision Thursday against the Nationals, allowing five runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out seven in 5.2 innings.

Ashcraft's streak of allowing two or fewer earned runs in a start this season extended to four, however, the five total runs he gave up Thursday are a career worst. The 26-year-old continues to strike batters out at a high rate, with his seven punchouts versus Washington bringing his total up to 27 against just seven walks through 22.2 innings this year. The right-hander is lined up to wrestle with the Rangers, which are tied for fifth in MLB with 21 home runs, in his next start.

Ozuna went 1-for-4 with a walk and a three-run home run during Thursday's 8-7 loss to the Nationals.

Ozuna has been mired in a big slump to start the season, but he seems to be shaking that off and heating up as of late. The 35-year-old crushed his first home run of the season Thursday, a three-run homer in the fifth that allowed the Pirates to match a four-run inning by the Nationals with one of their own. After having just two hits in the first 10 games, the 14-year veteran has five hits as part of a four-game hit streak.

Burns settled for a no-decision Thursday against the Giants, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk while striking out four over six innings.

After a tough start last time out -- in which Burns surrendered five runs to the Angels -- the young hurler recaptured the dominant form he showcased in his first two starts of the year. Aside from the 5.1 frames pitched against the Angels, the 23-year-old has otherwise allowed just one run and struck out 20 batters in 17 innings. All told, he still has a strong 2.42 ERA and 1.07 WHIP on the season. His next scheduled outing pits him against the Rays, which rank fourth in MLB with a .266 team batting average.

Miller picked up the save Thursday against the Reds, tossing a scoreless ninth inning with a walk and three strikeouts.

Miller has a blown save on his ledger already this season, but he took advantage of his second chance to lock down a game Thursday. The 28-year-old issued a one-out walk to Matt McLain, but he struck out the other three batters he faced to earn the save. With 10 strikeouts in six innings, the 28-year-old has the stuff to be an effective late-inning option but needs to find the consistency. Even after Thursday's outing, he holds a 6.00 ERA and 1.83 WHIP this year. Miller is in the mix for saves as Ryan Walker has been utilized as a bit of a late-inning fireman rather than a traditional closer early this year.

Lee went 3-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored during Thursday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

Lee notched his second three-hit game of the season and fourth multi-hit game over the last week. The 27-year-old clinched the latter of those two feats Thursday with an RBI single as part of the three-run seventh inning that accounted for the only offense of the game. Across the last six contests, Lee has gone 10-for-23 (.435 batting average) with three doubles, a home run and three RBI while striking out just twice.

Roupp (3-1) earned the win Thursday against the Reds, allowing no runs on one hit and two walks while striking out six across six innings.

Roupp is in just his second season as a full-time starter and is off to a strong start through four outings on the year. The 27-year-old has allowed one run or fewer in three of those four outings this season and holds a 2.38 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 24:7 K:BB in 22.2 innings. He finished last year with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP but has taken a step forward early in 2026, though it remains to be seen if the improved results are sustainable. The right-hander is scheduled to take the mound next against the Dodgers, which rank second in MLB with 105 runs scored.