Washington Nationals Staring In The Face Of Another Dismal Season

In 2019, the Washington Nationals completed the improbable of bringing to Washington D.C. its first World Series championship. It was an incredible story and there had to be some belief that the franchise’s future was bright and rosy. However, six consecutive losing seasons later, the Nats find themselves firmly entrenched in the bottom tier of Major League Baseball ranks.

They are a shell of the illustrious squad that reigned victorious in the Fall Classic six years ago. The outlook for the Nationals’ 2026 season shouldn’t inspire confidence in better things to come, either. There was little action on the part of the front office to add any notable players in the offseason. This is a roster, save for a few exceptions, that will render the climb to relevance a snug fit in the impossible category.

Nationals Offense Lacks Depth, Needs To Rely On Speed

The Nationals are essentially keeping the contributors on offense in house for this season, minus the power bat of Josh Bell (Minnesota Twins). This will be a mistake as the unit scored 687 runs, good for 20th in MLB and 3rd worst in the National League a season ago.

James Wood is the clear-cut best offensive player on the Nationals and is only 23 years old. In 157 games last season, the left fielder had 31 home runs, 94 RBI and an offensive WAR of 3.6. All led Washington, and Wood was rewarded with an All-Star appearance for his 2025 campaign.

Another name to watch on the lineup is Shortstop CJ Abrams. The 25-year-old is reliable insofar as providing plus power and production out of the position. In three full seasons with the Nationals, Abrams has averaged 19 home runs, 63 RBI and 36 stolen bases. He was a key contributor to a Nats team that ranked 10th in the majors in bags swiped (132). It is a weapon they should utilize even more, and Abrams needs to continue to do.

Pitching Will Rank Among The Worst In National League

Speaking of things that won’t matter, the same can be applied to the pitching situation. The starting rotation consists of fading veterans looking for bounce back years, inexperienced arms, and Zack Littell from the Cincinnati Reds.

One of the pitchers who lack years in the majors is Cade Cavalli, who was named the Opening Day starter for the game against the Chicago Cubs. Cavalli made 10 starts last season (4.25 ERA) after taking three years to recover from Tommy John surgery. He has 11 total MLB appearances in his career.

Foster Griffin, the No. 2 starter, is coming off a three-year successful stint over in Japan. Prior to making the move to the Nippon Professional Baseball, Griffin also was a victim of an extensive absence because of injury, suffering a forearm strain in his first MLB appearance back in 2020. It so happened to be his birthday. In total, Griffin has pitched in seven MLB games (no starts) and has not pitched in an MLB contest since 2022.

Miles Mikolas is a savvy, experienced starter, but his skills have clearly diminished since his 2022 season (3.29 ERA). Since that year, Mikolas finished with ERAs of 4.78, 5.34, and 4.84. The team should not expect the two-time All-Star to regain his form from a few years ago. Littell is the only solid starter on the roster. Point blank.

The bullpen doesn’t figure to fare any better, either. Among the features of the Nationals bullpen include a first time closer (Clayton Beeter), and a reliever who didn’t pitch last season (Gus Varland). It will not be fun times for Nats pitchers.

Final Prediction For Nationals’ 2026 Season

Take what happened in 2025 for Washington and apply it to this season. There was marginal change to the roster, so it is not advised to assume the outlook will be better. Expect another mediocre year.

Final Prediction: 64-98, no playoffs