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Nationals Have To Fix This Aspect of Their Game To Start Moving in Right Direction

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 7:00 PM ET

Not much has gone right for the Washington Nationals during the 2025 MLB regular season, regressing from the steps forward that were taken last year.

With their roster overhaul, the Nationals were embracing a youth movement. Young players were given a chance to play consistently, and the future looked bright. Despite back-to-back 71-win campaigns entering this year, optimism was on the rise.

Alas, that positivity seems to have been misplaced. The Nationals have taken a major step back this season, entering play on Sept. 5 with a 56-83 record. They are on pace to win about 65 games and if they fall into another rough patch, they could lose triple-digit games for the first time since 2022.

Washington’s struggles this year led to general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez being fired earlier in the summer. The timing was bizarre, just days before the 2025 MLB Draft and weeks before the MLB trade deadline. But it was a warranted move given where the team stood.

Another rebuild looks to be needed with how poorly things have gone this season. The team has very few surefire building blocks to upgrade around. Left fielder James Wood looks like a star. Shortstop CJ Abrams and ace MacKenzie Gore have both reached All-Star level already, too. But, it is fair to wonder if the team will be competitive before Abrams and Gore have to be paid.

Nationals Defense Has Been Brutal This Season

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If the Nationals want to compete with them as part of the core before no longer being under team control, there is a lot of work to be done. Washington is at a talent disadvantage virtually every time it takes the field. But there is one area of their game that stands out as needing the most improvement.

The Nationals’ defense has been abysmal this season. As shared by Thomas Nestico on X, they are 28th in Defensive Runs Saved this season with -39. Only the Minnesota Twins at -45 and the Colorado Rockies at -61 have been worse as a team.

Team Defensive Runs Saved pic.twitter.com/8YK0SC5zvj
— Thomas Nestico (@TJStats) September 5, 2025

That has to be cleaned up for the team to take steps forward. Too often, Washington is beating itself with self-inflicted wounds. They are already at too large a disadvantage before creating more obstacles to overcome.

Right now, the Nationals are negative at seven out of nine positions on the field in DRS. Pitcher and center field are the only spots where they aren’t receiving negative impacts defensively. Their biggest problem is currently at second base, where they have -22 DRS. Luis Garcia Jr. is graded as one of the worst defensive players in baseball with -17 DRS.

Up the middle in the infield is a struggle. At shortstop, they have -8 DRS, which is sixth-worst in baseball. Abrams, who is at -6, has the seventh-lowest mark at the position. The craziest part about their lack of infield defense is that when they shift, they are in the top half of the MLB in DRS; they just cannot get the job done when lined up traditionally in a non-shift.

That should be the first focus of the organization. Getting things settled defensively will help the pitching staff and save the team from giving up runs throughout the season. It will result in stealing a few wins, as a team such as Washington needs to find a way to win on the margins and squeeze as much value out of their roster as possible until the young talent begins to blossom.