The Nationals are hanging around the postseason picture, and two young bats are a huge reason why. Washington sits at 48-48 despite a bullpen that has been dragging the club down all season, but the lineup has given the team a real chance to stay in the race.
That makes last offseason’s trade chatter look a lot different now. According to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale, Washington was open to moving both CJ Abrams and James Wood over the winter. Instead, the Nationals kept both players in D.C., and that decision looks far better with the season they’re having.
“The Nationals traded prized starter MacKenzie Gore and let everybody know that CJ Abrams and James Wood were available during the winter, too, but now have a winning record and are hovering in the wild-card race,” Nightengale writes.
Abrams has been one of the club’s best hitters this year, posting a .276 batting average with 20 homers, 67 RBIs, and an .866 OPS in 92 games across 341 at-bats. Wood has been even more explosive, hitting .278 with 27 home runs, 63 RBIs, and a .974 OPS in 96 games across 367 at-bats.
Washington’s three All-Stars - Foster Griffin, Wood, and Abrams - have carried plenty of the load, and the Nationals now have enough production to at least justify thinking about adding help at the deadline. A reliever would make sense if they want to push their postseason odds higher.
There’s still plenty to sort out, especially in the bullpen and the starting rotation. But the bigger picture is clear: Wood and Abrams have become the kind of players a team builds around, and Washington is in a much better place because it kept them.
In Other News...
Nationals Add Four Draft Picks Led By Potomac Bat Chris Hacopian
The Nationals came away from the first day of the 2026 MLB First-Year Player Draft with four new names for the pipeline, headlined by a local bat who has been on the organizations radar for a while. Washington added second baseman Chris Hacopian from Texas A&M, outfielder Chase Brunson from Texas Christian, prep shortstop Luke Williams from Franklin Senior Regional High School and right-hander Cooper Harris from Flower Mound High School, with the picks announced by president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and assistant general manager Justin Horowitz.
Hacopian gives the club a polished college infielder with Washington-area roots, while the rest of the group adds a mix of college experience and high-school upside across the diamond. Williams brings another prep shortstop into the system, and Harris gives the Nationals a young arm to develop, leaving the early shape of the class clear even if the full draft-day strategy is still coming into focus. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Future Just Took Center Stage At The Futures Game
The Nationals will have plenty of eyes on their future when the 2026 All-Star Futures Game rolls around, with Eli Willits and Miguel Sime Jr. both earning invitations. Willits, the 2025 No. 1 overall pick, has already moved quickly enough to put himself in the spotlight, and his selection gives Washington a pair of prospects on one of the games biggest stages.
Willits is set to start at second base and lead off for the National League, a sign of how highly he is already regarded, while Sime Jr. brings a different kind of intrigue as a right-handed arm with real swing-and-miss ability. For a Nationals organization trying to build its next core, having two young players featured in the same showcase is another reminder that the pipeline is getting attention well beyond Washington. [Read more 🡒]