Washington’s win over the New York Mets sealed its best record since the 2019 championship season.
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As the Washington Nationals packed up their lockers after a 6-4 win over the visiting New York Mets in the season finale Sunday, CJ Abrams sat in a laundry cart, eating Sun Chips and watching highlights of the Philadelphia Phillies clinching a postseason spot on Instagram.
His teammates were jolly in the clubhouse as they hugged goodbye, sharing one last joke or game of cards before they parted for the offseason. For the most part, the Nationals are proud of how the season went, even as they finished 77-85 and missed the playoffs for the seventh year in a row.
But they got a taste this year of what success could look like. And that, Abrams said, makes them that much hungrier to take the next step next year.
“I can only imagine what it’s like to play in October,” Abrams said. “So hopefully gets to see how that feels.”
Was this season a success? In some ways, yes. With Washington having a new front office, led by President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni, and a new coaching staff, led by 33-year-old manager Blake Butera, the outside expectations were low. But on Opening Day, there were already signs that things would be different.
The Nationals won that day, beating the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs. Then, they won 76 more games to reach their most victories since 2019 and notch an 11-game improvement from last season. Butera quickly earned the trust of the clubhouse by being up front and honest with his players.
The coaching staff ran daily meetings, centered around discussing the mistakes of the previous day, and player meetings every six weeks to delve into progress and expectations.
Butera also wasn’t afraid to teach a lesson if he needed to, benching players at least three times this season for not playing with full effort. Open communication became a hallmark of the new regime.
“They’re all pros,” starter Jake Irvin said. “At the end of the day, they want to win, and they want us to be better. I think that coming to the yard, playing for people like that is really easy. I say that we built a lot of things culturally, but I’d be dammed not to say that they haven’t played a huge part in that. That’s really important, that’s really special, and hats off to them because they brought it every day.”
Without any major free agent additions, the Nationals made progress by tapping into the potential of the players they already had. Ten hitters had double-digit home runs, and nine of them set career highs, led by Abrams, who hit 33.
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Abrams also became just the third shortstop in major league history to record a season with at least 30 home runs, 30 stolen bases and 100 RBI. James Wood reached 30 home runs for the second year in a row, and Brady House became a dominant platoon player, hitting .357 against left-handed pitching.
The accomplishments on the pitching side weren’t as profound, but Washington made some gains there as well. Cade Cavalli cemented himself as an ace, and Andrew Alvarez showed his potential in the last two months of the season. Foster Griffin went from an unknown commodity coming over from Japan to an all-star before the Nationals traded him to the Cleveland Guardians.
The bullpen, though, will keep Toboni and Butera up this winter. Washington blew 42 saves, an MLB record, and had a number of other heartbreaking losses. There were so many that it’s hard to narrow it down, but a walk-off grand slam in San Francisco and three consecutive blown games against the Philadelphia Phillies at home stand out.
The Nationals churned through the options they had in their system, trying out 24 different pitchers in save or hold situations. No reliever stayed on the active roster for the entire season.
Would the outcome of the season be different had they held even a third of those leads? Butera thinks so.
“If we have an average bullpen, I think we’re probably talking about who we’re playing after this weekend,” Butera said.
Washington now heads into an uncertain offseason. MLB’s owners and the players union are not expected to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement before the Dec. 2 deadline, which could trigger another lockout. If that happens, teams will not be allowed to have any contact with players. It could also prolong the offseason and even jeopardize part or all of the 2027 season.
But the Nationals have reason to hope that next season, whenever it begins, will be better.
“I feel like it was definitely an improvement over last year,” Wood said. “I feel like there’s a whole lot of meat left on the bone. I feel like it’s been the common idea in this locker room. There’s a lot to be proud of, but I feel like there’s so much more in the tank.”
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