Cole Henry News: Makes spring debut

Published on February 25, 2026

Henry (back) struck out two batters in a perfect inning of relief Tuesday in the Nationals' 6-1 win over the Cardinals in Grapefruit League play.

Despite closing the past season on the injured list while recovering from a back strain, Henry appears to be under no restrictions during the early weeks of spring training. The Nationals head into the 2026 season without an obvious option to close games, and Henry should have the opportunity this spring to stake his claim to a late-inning role. While Henry collected two saves and nine holds over his 57 relief appearances for Washington last season, his peripherals (4.69 SIERA, 8.3 K-BB%, 31.7 GB%) were mostly underwhelming.