On Wednesday, the Washington Nationals made the decision to re-sign starter Jeremy Hellickson to a one-year deal. This agreement likely had the biggest effect of right-hander Joe Ross, who was previously the favorite for the fifth starter’s job.
The reasoning behind the signing is likely due to the team’s lack of confidence in Ross being able to stay in the rotation all season. After all, he was only able to make three major league starts last season after missing most of the year recovering from Tommy John surgery the previous year.
So assuming Hellickson is successful in Spring Training and becomes the fifth starter, there are two options for Ross.