Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg. Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

The biggest constraints to Nationals' payroll aren't even on their team

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Feb 18, 2025 8:38 PM ET

The Washington Nationals are trying to emerge from a yearslong rebuild, and 2025 will be their first opportunity to break out from the NL East basement.

Bringing in veterans like first basemen Nathaniel Lowe (trade) and Josh Bell (one year, $6M) plus infielders Ahmed Rosario (one year, $2M) and Paul DeJong (one year, $1M) indicates the team is trying to build around its young phenoms.

Outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews will be the focus of the Washington batting order, drawing in droves of fans to Nationals Park this year.

But when you take a closer look at the moves general manager Mike Rizzo has made, they more resemble bargain-bin deals.

That's for one simple and expensive reason, one that's hampered Washington's rebuild for several seasons now: The two highest-paid players on the Nationals' payroll will not step on the field for them in 2025.

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Pitchers Stephen Strasburg ($23.6M owed this year) and Max Scherzer ($15M) will out-earn the highest paid active player on the Nationals' roster this season — Lowe ($10.3M).

Strasburg retired from the team in 2024 after multiple seasons missed with injuries and will continue to be paid by the organization through the 2026 season.

Scherzer was traded away to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 before two-year stints with the New York Mets, Texas Rangers and now landing with the Toronto Blue Jays this year. He will continue to earn $15M annually through the 2027 season.

While there is no salary cap in baseball, Rizzo has a difficult task in trying to keep the team competitive with new signings and not triggering the MLB's luxury tax ($241M threshold).

"We filled in a bunch of spots that we needed to fill without expanding too much, or the budget too much, and blocking prospects too much," Rizzo told reporters at team workouts in Florida on Thursday.

"The [payroll for] players on the field is about the same, if not a little less, than it was last year,” he continued. “But I think that we have a better team than we had last year."

Washington finished fourth in the NL East last year (71-91) but with a cheaper retooled roster, it will try to win more than 71 games for the first time since its 2019 World Series-winning season.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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