Washington must address pitching concerns, a potential lockout and CJ Abrams’s future.
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Paul Toboni, the Washington Nationals’ president of baseball operations, planned to be back in his office this week, even though the 2026 season is over. The page has already flipped to the offseason, and Toboni’s front office has its work cut out.
The 2026 team took significant steps, winning 11 more games than in 2025 and finishing fourth, not fifth, in the National League East. The Nationals have two superstars in the making, James Wood and CJ Abrams, who, had they stayed healthy and put together complete seasons, could have been in the MVP conversation. The core around them is developing, and they have three solid starters — Cade Cavalli, Connelly Early and Andrew Alvarez — they think they can rely on.
But just as the pieces are falling into place, the Nationals also face questions heading into the offseason.
Yes, Cavalli, Early and Alvarez give them three starting pitching options. The rotation beyond that is murky. Jake Irvin has had a spot for the past three seasons, largely because there’s been little competition. But after he finished with a 5.48 ERA this season, the Nationals must decide if they want to keep him. Josiah Gray and DJ Herz (who returned from injuries to get in a few outings before the season ended) and Jackson Kent (who made eight appearances this season) are options as well.
The Nationals could enter 2027 with that group and hope for the best, then add at the trade deadline if needed. But the stronger the rotation, the less they have to rely on their bullpen. And that unit can use all the help it can get.
The Nationals blew 42 saves, a major league record, and tried just about everything outside of actually acquiring top relievers to fix their woeful bullpen. They made progress at the end of the season. Erik Tolman emerged as a high-leverage reliever, earning five saves and pitching to a 2.93 ERA in the final six weeks. Jack Sinclair, Will Dion and Yovanny Cruz also drew high praise from the coaching staff and front office.
Those four rookies aren’t enough, and none have been tested for a full major league season. Washington also can’t just rely on the other options it had this season, such as Richard Lovelady, Clayton Beeter, Brad Lord and PJ Poulin.
The Nationals know they need to address their bullpen; Toboni spent nearly his entire end-of-season news conference pondering that unit. So how will they do that? Will they go after a designated closer?
Not necessarily, Toboni said.
“I wouldn’t want to pigeonhole us into just going after guys who have ninth inning experience,” Toboni said. “Not to say it’s not important — it’s just there are countless relievers across the league who aren’t throwing in the ninth inning that are really good arms that we’d love to have.”
Free agent signings are the most obvious way to add talent, but that requires spending money, especially if they do go after an established closer. The Nationals have a decent idea of the talent they have in their system, so they could also go the trade route, like they did at the midseason deadline when they acquired Dion and Cruz.
MLB is heading toward another lockout this winter, unless owners and players are able to come to an agreement by Dec. 2.
That’s not looking likely. A lockout will mean two things for the Nationals’ offseason plans. First, it will cut off communication between the team and players. It will also bar players from using team facilities, in D.C. and Florida. That will impact players such as Wood, a Rockville native who stays local during the offseason.
The Nationals have pushed players toward other facilities where they could train during a lockout, Manager Blake Butera said.
“We’re going to be in the camp of being ultra-prepared and communicate super frequently to the extent that we are allowed to,” Toboni said. “It’s all in the spirit of coming into spring training next year firing.”
That’s just one part of the equation. The lockout will also pause all business, including free agency and trades. In 2021, before the last lockout, there was a mad flurry of signings in the hours before the cutoff. When the two sides came to an agreement, players had just a few days before reporting to spring training and free agents were signing up until Opening Day.
Toboni said he doesn’t know if this potential lockout will follow the same pattern but emphasized that the Nationals have to be prepared for any scenario.
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CJ Abrams knows what it’s like to be on the trade block. Will that be the case again this winter?
As Toboni put it, he’d be dumb not to pick up the phone if a team called. But that doesn’t mean that he is planning to trade Abrams.
“We’d be foolish not to,” Toboni said. “I understand how that can be taken out of context in the media — like, ‘Oh, lines are open there.’ But, more so in practice, when you actually think about it, this team calls, you don’t just hang up the phone when they bring up the name.”
The Nationals are planning on having Abrams on their roster. So that raises another question: Will he be a second baseman or a shortstop?
In August, the Nationals told Abrams they were moving him to second base. They ended up allowing the 25-year-old to split his time between shortstop and second base down the stretch because of the improvements he showed following that meeting.
Abrams will spend the offseason working on both positions, and Butera said Washington will make a decision in spring training on where he best fits.
“He’s absolutely earned an opportunity to continue to work at [shortstop] this offseason,” Butera said. “If he plays shortstop the way that he did the last whatever it is, six weeks or so, that’s a good shortstop, right? It’s not like he’s old and losing a step. He’s still in his prime and moving pretty well.”
The more flexibility Abrams can provide, the better. Nasim Nuñez is one of the best defensive players in the Nationals’ system, and though he had one of the lowest on-base plus slugging percentages in MLB, he can do damage once gets on base. He stole 49 bases, leading the majors and surpassing Abrams for the Nationals’ single-season record.
Seaver King, who hit .303 with a .898 OPS across Class AA and Class AAA this season, is another middle infielder who could factor into decisions next season. Eventually, the Nationals will turn to Eli Willits, who, like Nuñez, is a strong defender, a threat on the basepaths and a potential contributor with his bat. Willits, their No. 1 prospect, ended the season in Class AA.
Nearly every position player took a step forward this past season. Call it luck that it all happened in the same season or the impact of the new coaching staff — either way, the challenge now is to continue that progress.
“I don’t think we can go into next year just thinking it’s a given,” Toboni said. “We can’t fall into that trap. … A lot of these guys made big strides, and I think it would be natural to assume that some of these players on our roster will regress a little bit.”
The lineup doesn’t necessarily need additions to be competitive. The Nationals led MLB in runs scored for most of the season and ended third behind the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers (both playoff teams). Abrams had a career year, hitting 33 home runs, with Wood behind him at 30.
Wood can still improve, too. He didn’t hit a home run in the last two months of the season and had just four extra-base hits in the final month. The reason — whether it was lingering issues from an oblique strain or general fatigue — is unknown. But he’s only 24 and has plenty of time to grow.
Dylan Crews still hasn’t put the pieces together at the major league level, hitting just .223 this season, but Washington thinks he made strides at the end of the season. Daylen Lile had his moments down the stretch, hitting nine home runs in the final two months, and feels more confident now in his pregame approach. Brady House smashed left-handed pitching and drastically improved defensively after a stint in Class AAA. Now, the Nationals just need him to continue down that path.
They have options to sort out at first base, too, with Andrés Chaparro — who surprised with 13 home runs this season — Abimelec Ortiz and Yohandy Morales in contention. Morales will also spend the offseason working on third base, giving the Nationals another option at that corner.
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