WILMINGTON, Del. -- Around 12:25 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon, right-hander Josiah Gray walked into left field to warm up at Frawley Stadium wearing a No. 20 Blue Rocks uniform. At High-A Wilmington’s season finale, Gray was 40 minutes away from the end of a 17-month wait.
Gray made his first start on the professional level since April 4, 2024. He underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure on July 24, 2024.
“They were strong emotions, with being able to suit up again and pitch with the team behind me,” Gray said.
Gray threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings on Sunday against the IronBirds. He did not allow a hit, issued two walks, recorded one strikeout and hit one batter. Gray located 18 of his 34 pitches for strikes.
“I feel good,” Gray said. “Definitely a little rusty, but I'm glad that I was able to get out there and give the team some zeros … and work through stuff that you know you're not able to work through in a traditional rehab setting.”
Gray delivered a 1-2-3 first inning with a strikeout, a flyout to left field and a lineout to left. He opened the second frame by hitting Anderson De Los Santos with a pitch. Gray then issued a walk to Elis Cuevas, and a double steal put runners on second and third. He loaded the bases with no outs by walking Victor Figueroa.
Gray retired his last batter of the outing, Maikol Hernández, on a pop out to first base. Peyton Glavine completed the frame without allowing a run.
“I was getting a lot of swing-and-miss,” Gray said. “That was really promising for me, with the slider, with the fastball, with the cutter. So I was really happy with the spot those pitches were in.
“Then obviously [in] the second inning, the wheels were spinning a little bit. So just being able to take a step back and try and work through some things the next time and just get used to having runners on again and working through my looks to not give them easy stolen bases, things like that.
“Getting back into the speed of the game is going to be the biggest thing. I think it was a step in the right direction, but obviously a lot more kinks to work out.”
Gray, 27, had approached this start focused on the bigger picture.
“With coming through a long rehab like this, I want to obviously set my expectations high,” Gray said on Saturday. “I want to go out there and strike out as many batters as possible. But I also want to keep in mind, ‘Hey, you're back out there for the first time. You might be a little rusty here and there.’ Give myself some grace with the results-side of things, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey that has been a long, long rehab. Think about the future and how that's going to look.”
The plan for Gray’s next step is a rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg. The goal is to progress to Triple-A Rochester by the end of the season and enter the winter on a throwing program, rather than in rehab mode.
“You always take it day by day, because the bounce back and the recovery aspect is so important,” Gray said. “When you're rehabbing Tommy John or any other major injury, you want to make sure you're not too sore and you're not pushing too far ahead. So we were checking all those boxes, and then we kind of put the plan in place for September, and here I am now.”
Gray aims to return to the Nationals' starting rotation in 2026. Over four Major League seasons, he is 17-27 with a 4.84 ERA in 73 starts. Gray earned his first All-Star selection in 2023, and he was named the Nats' Opening Day starter in ‘24.
“I'm looking forward to the next one," Gray said, "being able to do it again next week, build on that and kind of build myself back up into knowing I can do this and be an asset for the Nationals in the near future.”