Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants Announce Pitcher Trade

The Washington Nationals have made another move to begin the offseason, this time announcing a pitcher swap on Friday afternoon in the second offseason trade with the San Francisco Giants.

The Nationals acquired left handed pitcher Reiver Sanmartin from the San Francisco Giants in exchange for right handed pitcher Kyle Nicolas.

The 30 year old wrapped up his first and only season with the Giants under new manager Tony Vitello as Sanmartin posted a 4.22 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across 24 appearances and owning a 3-0 overall record. While he has posted a 4-0 record over his last three seasons and 39 appearances, 2026 marked the first time since 2022 that Sanmartin recorded at least 20 appearances in a regular season. The left hander recorded five games with two strikeouts, the first coming against the Nationals back on June 10, while he held opponents to a .186 batting average over the final six weeks of the regular season.

That came after wrapping up a stint with the Cincinnati Reds where he posted a 5.66 ERA and 1.36 WHIP across his four years. After pitching a combined 27.1 innings across three seasons, the bulk of his production came in 2022 when he tossed 47 strikeouts in 57 innings, ending the season with a 6.32 ERA.

Sanmartin also appeared in 21 minor league games in 2026, owning a 3.03 ERA and 0.94 WHIP with just four walks across 29.2 innings. The veteran becomes the latest offseason addition for the Nationals after previously announcing the acquisition of infielder Nate Furman, also from San Francisco, while the team previously announced that right handed pitcher Braxton Roxby was claimed off outright waivers after his stint with the Giants.

As for the departing 27 year old, Nicolas arrived within the Nationals organization after being acquired back in early July before spending time in Triple A Rochester. Nicolas owned a 3.29 ERA and struck out over 29% of batters faced across his 27.1 innings pitched with Triple A Rochester. He also entered the offseason out of minor league options, paving the way for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni to decide on his future this offseason.

The move also comes shortly after news broke that the Nationals are expected to reach a four year contract extension with center fielder Jacob Young, the second extension after Cade Cavalli to be finalized under the Nationals' new front office.