Miles Mikolas Signs With Division Rival After 8 Seasons With Cardinals

February 12, 2026 ,
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Miles Mikolas pitches during 2025 game.

The St. Louis Cardinals are officially turning the page, and it stings a little more because the exit is going to another National League club. 

Veteran right-hander Miles Mikolas is headed to the Washington Nationals on a 2026 MLB deal, ending his long run in St. Louis after becoming one of the franchise’s most dependable starters of the last decade.

Nationals add Mikolas for stability and innings

This is a classic Nationals move for where they are. Mikolas is 37, not flashy, and not a strikeout guy, but he’s durable. 

From 2022 to 2025, he was one of the few pitchers in baseball to make 30-plus starts every season, and that kind of volume is huge for a club trying to protect young arms and survive the grind. 

The recent results are more mid-rotation than top-end, including a 4.84 ERA in 31 starts in 2025, but he still brings value because he avoids walks at an elite clip and can get a team deep into games. 

Cardinals move on as retooling continues

Mikolas will always be remembered for his immediate impact after returning from Japan, including that 2018 season where he went 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA, made the All-Star team, and even landed sixth in NL Cy Young voting. 

He later made another All-Star appearance in 2022, but the last few seasons have been rockier overall. Now Washington gets the veteran presence in a rotation mix that includes arms like Cade Cavalli, Josiah Gray, Jake Irvin, and Brad Lord, while St. Louis keeps clearing space and leaning into its next phase. 

Over his eight seasons in St. Louis, Mikolas holds a 4.16 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, with 833 strikeouts across 1,161 innings, and 204 appearances.

Photo Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

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