The Washington Nationals designated left-hander Tom Cosgrove for assignment on Wednesday, a sudden roster move that ends his brief tenure in the capital and reconnects him, at least in the news cycle, with the Chicago Cubs.
Washington needed a 26-man spot after reinstating outfielder James Wood from the 10-day injured list following an oblique strain. The club also recalled right-hander Riley Cornelio from Triple-A Rochester. Cosgrove, 30, became the corresponding casualty.
Cosgrove arrived in Washington in early July, when the Nationals acquired him from the Houston Astros for cash. Houston had signed him to a minor-league deal in the offseason after he became a free agent following the 2025 season. The early returns with the Nationals were encouraging.
Through his first 11 appearances, he allowed only two runs in 10 2/3 innings. Then August arrived and the results inverted. Over his last several outings he surrendered 11 runs in 5 2/3 innings, pushing his season line to 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA in 16 1/3 innings across 18 games. Three blown saves in that span made the late-inning work especially costly.
Cubs fans who remember Cosgrove will recall a shorter, quieter chapter. San Diego traded him to Chicago for cash in April 2025 after designating him for assignment. The Cubs optioned him immediately to Triple-A Iowa and used him in the majors only twice.
He allowed one run in four innings with three strikeouts. Chicago designated him again on August 31 of that year to clear a 40-man spot, then outrighted him to Iowa when he cleared waivers.
He finished the year in the minors and elected free agency in November. That brief North Side stint is why headlines now describe him as a recent Cubs pitcher.
The larger story of Cosgrove’s career is the 2023 rookie season that first put him on the map. Drafted by the Padres in the 12th round in 2017 out of Manhattan College, the Staten Island native posted a 1.75 ERA in 51 1/3 innings over 54 relief appearances as a first-year major leaguer. Opponents hit just .173 against him.
Regression and an elbow issue followed in 2024, when his ERA ballooned to 11.66 in limited work. Command has been the recurring problem since then.
He generates weak contact from a lower arm slot that bothers left-handed hitters, but walks and inherited-runner issues have kept him from locking down a stable big-league job. Career numbers through this week stand at 2-5 with a 4.59 ERA in 86 1/3 innings.
Because Cosgrove is out of minor-league options, any club that claims him off waivers must carry him on the active roster. If he clears, Washington can outright him to Triple-A or he can elect free agency again.
For a pitcher who has now been designated by three organizations in two years, the next landing spot will determine whether the 2023 version of Cosgrove still exists or whether the later, more erratic one is the pitcher teams see.
