Billy HeyenSun, November 23, 2025 at 5:53 AM UTC·1 min readNationals sign former shortstop who is trying to become an MLB pitcher originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Washington Nationals want to see the Erick Mejia experiment through.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThey re-signed their farmhand this weekend, according to Baseball America's Matt Eddy. This isn't just any minor league ballplayer, though.
Mejia came up as a shortstop, and now he's trying to become a pitcher.
He undertook the task full-time in 2025, and he climbed all the way to Triple-A.
His most pitching came at Double-A, where he made 24 appearances and had a 2.33 ERA.
He struggled more at Triple-A Rochester, allowing 12 runs in 10 innings.
Mejia has been in professional baseball for a long time. He signed with the Seattle Mariners as an international free agent in 2012.
He spent time in the systems of the Mariners, Dodgers and Royals before joining the Nationals' system in 2023.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe did play in the majors as a shortstop with the Royals, going 6-for-36 across two seasons.
Mejia struggled in 2023 and 2024 with his bat at Rochester, so the Nationals gave him a chance to shift gears in 2025 and become a pitcher. There was more good than bad, so he could get a chance to climb the final rung on the ladder in 2026.
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