#washington-nationals

#washington-nationals

Throughout the offseason, one of the more awkward times of the year is the subject of arbitration for players and teams around Major League Baseball. Their case is a true first, as Skubal and his camp are seeking $32 million in salary for 2026, which would be a record awarded in arbitration. The Tigers filed at $19 million, which leaves the side $13 million apart as rumors of Skubal being traded to the highest bidder will only surely increase moving forward.

That acquisition might have come in the form of catcher Harry Ford, who they got in a deal from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer. It was a move Nationals fans had dreamed of, as Ford had no clear path to consistent playing time in Seattle behind MVP candidate Cal Raleigh, and the Nationals had a clear need to upgrade at catcher from their incumbent duo of Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams.

The Washington Nationals have had a very interesting offseason to this point. While nobody truly knows the intentions of the club in terms of free agency this winter, one thing has become very clear: under the new guidance of Paul Toboni, the Nationals are going to become a player development machine. This should be music to the ears of all Nationals fans who have paid attention over the last few years.

The numbers are staggering. Since being drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2020, Cavalli has unfortunately not been able to stay healthy, spending limited time on the big-league mound. Between Tommy John surgery and the "dead arm" setbacks that pushed back his return in 2025, he has become the equivalent of a McLaren that never leaves the garage.

On that day, Washington officially announced the signing of Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million contract. At the time, it marked the largest deal ever given to a right-handed pitcher and a clear signal that the Nationals were serious about winning. Scherzer arrived in Washington from the Detroit Tigers. Already an established ace, he still exceeded expectations. From 2015 to 2021, he posted a 2.80 ERA across 189 appearances and struck out 1,610 batters.

As of December 29th, 2025 take a look at the projected 2026 payroll for the Washington Nationals. Go ahead, pull it up. As of right now, it's hovering right around $98 million. This is in a division where the Mets and Phillies are both treating the league's luxury tax as nothing more than a suggestion, the Nationals are currently ranked in the bottom third in spending.

Last year, the right-handed reliever was in AAA with the Royals, where he posted a 4.87 ERA in 57 and a third innings pitched. These are not numbers that most fans would get excited about. However, Nogosek has untapped potential. He has a fastball that is about league average velocity, and his primary offspeed offering is a sweeper with almost 20 inches of horizontal break.

Infielder Orelvis Martinez will attend spring training as a non-roster invitee with the Washington Nationals in 2026, per the club's announcement on Friday. The former Toronto Blue Jays top prospect, who agreed to a minor-league deal for '26 with the Nats back in September, was one of three non-roster players - ones who aren't already on the 40-man roster - to receive an invitation to major-league camp for next spring.

Despite being a near-unwatchable product on the field in recent years, the Washington Nationals have had pretty fantastic luck when it comes to having the odds bounce in their favor. Specifically, the ping pong balls for the MLB Draft Lottery have resulted in their favor more often than not, but the team has been unable to take full advantage. Them not being able to take advantage is actually no fault of their own but is in fact due to an outright stupid rule change that Major League Baseball implemented a few years ago.

Simply put, the Nationals have not been good enough behind the plate for years now. Keibert Ruiz has been brutal both offensively and defensively since inking his long-term extension, and this trade now has his future with the club in serious doubt. While giving up Ferrer, thought to be the long-term closer of the future for the Nationals, is a steep loss, the upside presented by the return is definitely worth it, in my opinion.

Aside front ace southpaw MacKenzie Gore, Washington's pitching staff struggled mightily in 2025. Young starters Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker took major steps back after solid showings in 2024. Trevor Williams pitched more like his 2023 self than 2024. Kyle Finnegan was inconsistent and wound up getting traded, and no young relievers (perhaps with the exception of Brad Lord) stepped up in a meaningful way.

As we as a site have pointed out at length, specifically back at the trade deadline, the case for trading Gore is a very simple one to comprehend. He is a Scott Boras client, who is notorious for not having his players sign extensions before going to free agency, and the Nationals don't seem close to competing with him before he hits free agency after the 2027 season.

As part of their efforts to provide their upper levels of the minor leagues with more depth, the team has brought in righty Tyler Baum, a former touted arm in the Athletics' organization. As for some background on Baum, he was a 2nd-round pick by the then Oakland A's back in 2019 with the 66th pick out of the University of North Carolina.

What was supposed to be a step forward season for the Washington Nationals turned into more of the same. The 2025 Nats limped to a 66-96 finish, extending their losing-season streak to six and falling further off track after a slightly more competitive 2024. Progress never came, and in July, the Nats ownership moved both longtime manager Davey Martinez and general manager Mike Rizzo out of the picture.

If you remember back about a year ago at this time, things looked pretty wild for the Washington Nationals and former closer Kyle Finnegan. The righty was coming off an All-Star 2024 campaign, but his underlying metrics told more of the full story. Finnegan had been a beneficiary of some good luck, and his lack of swing-and-miss stuff was keeping him from unlocking his true potential as a late inning option for the Nationals.

While variations of these jerseys were worn in the past, before 2011, the main change made to them was on the jersey sleeve, where the interlocking DC logo was replaced with a Nationals emblem in a circle featuring the team's signature "curly w". The Nationals wore these uniforms during the years when they had their core players, including 2018, when the team featured many superstars such as Bryce Harper, Juan Soto, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, and Anthony Rendon.

The Nationals' front office continues with aggressive coaching hires, and they made another bold move on Friday by bringing in Andrew Aydt as their new assistant hitting coach. Aydt becomes the second addition to the staff from Driveline Baseball this offseason and carries on a clear trend under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera: youth, analytics and innovation.

Toboni and Butera have been hard at work assembling a young and forward-thinking coaching staff since the hiring of Butera was initially announced a few weeks ago, and earlier this week, the Nationals poached yet another rising name on the coaching side. Perhaps what makes it even sweeter is the fact that this time it came from a National League East rival.

The primary reason the Nationals should look to sign Rojas is his premium defense. For almost his entire career, Rojas has been a premium defender at shortstop and second base. This past season, Rojas' outs above average ranked in the 91st percentile of all qualified players. While defensive statistics like outs above average can fluctuate from season to season for many players, Rojas has consistently been an elite performer in this metric. He has ranked around the 90th percentile since 2021.

To anyone who had been paying attention, the club was in a bad spot overall. There was a complete lack of resources available to help with player development, and the ideologies that were being taught to youngsters had simply become completely outdated. 2024 1st-rounder Seaver King inadvertently pointed out some issues with minor league coaching, and was a large reason why the new regime is focusing so much on player development.

The Nats learned that their internal philosophies must change. Ownership recognized this and fired both Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez in July of 2025. The timing of the firings was unexpected. Most Nats fans expected Darnell Coles and Jim Hickey to be let go before Davey. Almost all fans could've agreed that none of the firings would be in-season. It showed an urgency from ownership that change needed to happen, and fast.