Washington Nationals Need To Find Production From Others Outside of Their 'Big 3'

The Washington Nationals don’t look like they will be a playoff team in 2025, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer.

After winning the World Series in 2019, the team entered a rebuild. Several veteran players departed in free agency or were traded away, with the Nationals looking to build their next core of players.

The blockbuster that has led them to that foundation was trading Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.

In the return package, Washington received left fielder James Wood, shortstop CJ Abrams, outfielder Robert Hassell III and starting pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jarlin Susana.

Four out of five of those players are currently contributing at the Major League level. Three of them, Wood, Abrams and Gore, are already All-Star level contributors.

There is a case for all three of them to represent the Nationals on the NL All-Star Team this year in Atlanta.

Which Nationals Will Step Up Alongside James Wood, CJ Abrams and MacKenzie Gore?

Wood should be in the running for the starting lineup, building upon a successful rookie campaign in 2024 and already looking like one of the best left-handed hitters in baseball.

Abrams made the All-Star team in 2024 and is performing at a higher level in 2025. Shortstop has a lot of quality candidates but he will be in the mix for a spot on the team.

Gore currently leads the MLB in strikeouts and has emerged as a bona fide ace to anchor the Washington rotation. There are a ton of worthy starting pitchers, but the lefty is making a strong case.

Those three are quite a foundation for a franchise to build around, but the Nationals are not receiving enough contributions from others to take that next step.

“The Nationals are a pretty bad team with two or three of the best young players in the game,” wrote Chad Jennings of The Athletic (subscription required) in this week’s MLB power rankings, which Washington came in at No. 23.

The hard part of the rebuild has been done; the Nationals have a star anchoring the lineup and an ace atop their rotation, the two hardest tasks.

Alas, all of those pieces are from the Soto trade.

Suppose Washington wants to show signs of climbing out of this rebuild as soon as this year, in a similar fashion to the Detroit Tigers in 2024. In that case, they need some of their other homegrown players to start stepping up and producing up to their capabilities.