The Nationals are headed for a seventh straight season without a playoff berth, but the final stretch still matters plenty in Washington. The front office is in evaluation mode, and the latest sign of that came with Clayton Beeter being optioned to Triple-A. With the roster still very much in flux, roles are there to be won.
One of the clearest answers, though, should already be in place. Andrew Alvarez has done enough to lock down a spot in the starting rotation next season, and he should be out there on Opening Day alongside ace Cade Cavalli.
Alvarez doesn’t fit the usual prospect profile that gets people buzzing. He was a 12th-round pick, never ranked among Washington’s top 30 prospects by MLB Pipeline, and he doesn’t bring eye-popping strikeout stuff or a mound presence that jumps off the screen.
Still, the production has been impossible to ignore. In 28 career major league appearances, including 20 starts, he has a 3.16 ERA.
His ERA+ sits 37 points above the league average of 100.
That case got even stronger on Sept. 12.
Coming off a win that ended a seven-game losing streak, Alvarez delivered exactly the kind of outing a team wants when it needs one most. He went seven shutout innings, allowed just one hit and struck out eight. The four walks were part of the line, but he escaped the trouble and kept the game under control.
Now that he’s nearly reached 100 innings of big league work, the picture is getting harder to miss. Over 98 2/3 innings as a major league starter, Alvarez owns a 3.01 ERA.
Opponents are hitting just .205 against him and slugging .299. His 11.4% walk rate is higher than ideal, especially paired with a 22% strikeout rate, but the results have spoken loudly enough to outweigh the imperfections.
For a Nationals pitching staff that has had plenty of issues in recent years, that kind of reliability should carry real weight.
If Alvarez is already in the rotation with Cavalli, that still leaves three openings heading into 2027. Those spots could come from players already in the organization, pitchers in the minors, or additions through free agency or trades.
But whatever happens this winter, Alvarez has earned the right to be part of the plan.
In Other News...
Nationals Face A Winter Debate Their Young Lineup Just Created
James Woods reaction to the Nationals trade-deadline selloff landed as a reminder of where this rebuild stands now: firmly in the long view, with young players increasingly driving the conversation. Washington has built real offensive depth, with several promising bats giving the lineup a more stable foundation than it had a year ago. Even with the deadline moves clearing the way for a slower climb, the clubs message has stayed consistent under Paul Toboni - this is about constructing something sustainable, not forcing a shortcut back into the race.
The harder part of that vision is what comes next, because young talent can make the future look brighter without solving every current problem. The Nationals know the bullpen still remains an issue, which is why the winter figures to bring a different kind of debate than the one they had at the deadline. With the lineup now showing signs of life and the front office committed to patience, the question is how aggressively Washington should try to support the core it has already started to assemble. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Suddenly Face A Tough Call On Connelly Early
A rainout has left the Nationals sorting through the next step for Connelly Early, whose scheduled Double-A outing disappeared before he could get a real test in game action. Washington wants him to have some kind of mound work before the end of the season, and the options now on the table are a stop in Rochester or a live session in D.C. as the club tries to keep his buildup moving.
The timing is what makes this tricky. Early would need to come off the injured list and get onto the mound quickly if the Nationals want him available before the schedule runs out, and there is not much margin for error with the season winding down. For a team still trying to map out its late-season pitching picture, a missed start has turned into a small but meaningful decision about how soon Early might be ready for the next level. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospects Are Starting To Force A Bigger Conversation
Rochesters comeback win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre offered another reminder that the Nationals upper minors are starting to push more names into the conversation. The Red Wings dug out of a 6-0 hole and finished off a 7-6 victory, with Riley Adams coming through on the go-ahead RBI single and Chandler Champlain working the start while giving up four runs on six hits over four innings.
Harrisburg added to the buzz with a 9-3 win over New Hampshire, powered by four home runs and strong showings from Jarlin Susana and Luke Young. Between the results in Triple-A and Double-A, theres a growing sense that Washington has more depth moving through the system than it did a year ago, even if the next wave is still sorting out exactly who will force the clubs hand first. [Read more 🡒]