Former Reds prospect completes incredible comeback to chase Opening Day dream

On Monday, former Cincinnati Reds prospect Josiah Gray faced off against Major League hitters for the first time in almost two years. Gray, who's battling for a spot in the Washington Nationals Opening Day rotation, hadn't been on a big-league mound since April 4, 2024, and his first opponent in the batters' box was former AL MVP Jose Altuve.

Altuve recorded a single off Gray during the bottom of the first inning of Monday's exhibition game against the Houston Astros. But after that, he struck out perennial All-Star slugger Yordan Alvarez and induced an inning-ending double-play off the bat of Carlos Correa. Gray's day was after 1⅔ innings having allowed one run on two hits and striking out three Astros hitters.

Gray suffered an elbow injury during the spring of 2024, underwent Tommy John surgery, and after a long recovery, finally returned to the bump late last season. He made a few rehab starts last fall, but Monday's outing was the first step toward his dream of breaking camp with the big-league ball club and being part of the Nats' Opening Day roster.

Ex-Reds prospect Josiah Gray hoping for redemption in 2026

Most Reds fans might not remember Gray. Though he was a former second-round pick and a highly-touted pitching prospect, he was only part of the Reds organization for a few months before being shipped off to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Gray and fellow prospect Jeter Downs were packaged with Homer Bailey and traded to the Dodgers in December of 2018. In return, the Reds received outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, left-handed pitcher Alex Wood, and utility infielder Kyle Farmer — the only player from that trade who remained in Cincinnati beyond the 2018 season.

Gray spent a few seasons in the Dodgers' farm system and eventually made his big league debut for LA in 2021. But Gray's Major League tenure with the Dodgers was rather abbreviated. He appeared in just two games before being sent to our nation's capital as part of a trade package for Max Scherzer.

Gray steadily improved his standing with Washington and was named an All-Star in 2023. His performance that season (8-13 3.91 ERA) earned him a spot atop the Nats rotation and he was named the team's Opening Day starter in 2024. Ironically enough, his first game that season was against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

Unfortunately, Gray's next outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 4 was the last time he'd set foot on a Major League mound until Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros.

If Gray can show that he's healthy, there's a chance he could be back on a Major League mound during a regular season game sometime later this month — almost exactly two years to the day he threw his last pitch in the big leagues. At the moment, Cade Cavelli and Miles Mikolas are the only two pitchers in the Nats' rotation who are assured a spot on the Opening Day roster.