CINCINNATI -- Walking into a new clubhouse is, well, nothing new for Andrew Chafin.
The veteran left-hander with a unique personality joined the Nationals in Cincinnati on Friday, one day after signing a one-year Major League deal to pitch in the back end of their bullpen.
Washington is his seventh organization, and after beginning the season pitching for the Tigers’ Triple-A team before being released Wednesday, he was ready to jump in without missing a beat.
“They called and said, ‘We have a job for you,’” Chafin, 34, said. “I said, ‘All right, let’s do this thing.’ So then I showed up today. It’s pretty simple. I’m excited to be here. It seems like a good group of guys so far. It should be pretty fun.”
The Nationals turned to Chafin to make his season debut with a runner on first and one out in the sixth inning of their 11-6 win over the Reds on Saturday at Great American Ball Park.
Starter Trevor Williams had allowed a solo homer to Jake Fraley to bring the Reds within three runs, and Chafin was tabbed to halt the rally. He handled it with back-to-back strikeouts.
“He came in and did a great job,” said manager Dave Martinez. “We were hoping that we could get [Williams] through the inning, or at least get him through the nine-hole hitter so Chafin could come in at the top. It didn’t work out, but he came in and got some big outs for us in that sixth inning.”
Chafin’s first Major League pitch of 2025 was a strike against pinch-hitter Noelvi Marte. After overcoming a wild pitch in the dirt that advanced the runner, Chafin fanned Marte. Chafin then stifled TJ Friedl swinging to end the inning and strand a runner on second.
“I threw more strikes than balls, and they swung at balls that weren’t strikes,” Chafin said. He threw a total of eight pitches, six going for strikes.
Over his 12-year career, Chafin has become comfortable with the unfamiliar. He has played in the Majors for the D-backs, Tigers, Cubs, Athletics, Rangers and Brewers.
“I have no idea about anything on this team right now,” Chafin said on Friday. “I don’t really pay attention to anything outside of my little bubble, so I have no clue what our record is or anything like that. I’m going to show up and pitch my [butt] off and hope for the best.”
Chafin was 2-0 with one save and a 2.13 ERA in 13 games with Toledo when the Nats expressed interest in him returning to the bigs.
“I was executing pitches and getting outs – so I’m going to try to keep executing pitches and getting outs,” Chafin said. “Pitching is only as difficult as you make it.”
A 2011 first-round Draft pick by Arizona, Chafin has amassed 509 MLB innings. He entered Saturday leading all relievers with 500 appearances since 2017.
“Well, you can’t pull fat,” Chafin said of his durability. “I don’t know if I’ve just been blessed and have a body that’s too stupid to get hurt, or what. But I just do what my body tells me I need to do that day to be prepared to go do what I got to do. The body will talk to you, you’ve just got to learn how to listen to it.”
Chafin is the most experienced arm in the Nationals’ bullpen. He could provide lefty insight for 25-year-old southpaw Jose A. Ferrer, and right-handers Cole Henry and Jackson Rutledge are in their first season as relievers, too.
“I’m here to have a good time and have fun with everybody,” said Chafin. “If I can teach the young bucks a couple things, that’ll be fantastic. But if they don’t want to listen to me, that’s their problem. I’ve been around long enough. … I’ve seen a lot of different things, and hopefully I can bring something to the table beyond my pitching.”
Even though Chafin had not appeared in a big league game since Sept. 27 of last season, he described the relief outing as “another day in the office.” And on Saturday, he had fun at his new job.
“It was just exciting to be able to jog back out and be in a stadium where the seats go all the way around,” Chafin said. “That is pretty exciting, and it’s like where I feel like I should be.”