The Nationals have reached the point where the next real leap has to come on the mound, and more specifically, in the starting rotation.
Washington fans know exactly what a difference elite rotation work can make. There was the 2015 group - Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and Gio Gonzalez - that became the “Where’s my ring?!?”
team. Tanner Roark got bumped to the bullpen for Doug Fister, who was listed as the fifth starter.
Even the 2019 World Series club leaned on a strong rotation. Those were the kinds of staffs that made the Nationals feel built to last.
Now the challenge is rebuilding that kind of foundation again, and doing it with money.
Before the Dodgers began pouring major dollars into their payroll, the Nationals were the team with the first $100 million-a-year starting rotation. That history is part of the case here: if Washington wants to climb back into contention, the organization needs to spend on starting pitching again. The current group is young and relatively inexpensive, but it still needs veteran arms who can stabilize the front of the rotation.
That’s where ownership and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni come in. With the uncertainty of the next CBA and the opening of free agency, nothing is guaranteed beyond theory right now.
The hope is that ownership gives Toboni enough budget - and the green light - to land two strong starters in free agency. Tarik Skubal would be the dream name.
Maybe Foster Griffin becomes part of the answer again. However it gets done, the message is the same: ownership has to open the wallet, and Toboni has to get it right.
If that happens, the picture changes quickly. Pair better rotation work with a rebuilt offense and the bullpen improvements that have already been discussed, and this team starts looking like one on the rise. The Nats already showed this year how good they could be when they got to 4.0 games over .500.
There are signs the pitching pipeline still has life, too. Cade Cavalli’s surge has him looking like the ace of the group, and Andrew Alvarez has pushed his ERA down to 3.47.
That number sits just behind Sandy Alcantara’s 3.54. Washington’s future could also include Jackson Kent, who is expected to get a look tonight in Los Angeles.
He has added a new sinker and is tunneling better, though this time he won’t be facing the Miami Marlins. Beyond that, the possibilities include Jake Bennett, Luis Perales, DJ Herz and Connelly Early.
The organization also has more names coming through the system. Travis Sykora looks like the next ace in the pipeline, while Jarlin Susana remains a long-term starter candidate - unless he ends up being the Nationals’ answer to Aroldis Chapman. Jack Cebert and Josh Hartle, acquired in trade deadline deals, add to the depth, and there are more arms in High-A and Single-A as well.
Still, the broader issue is development. Washington needs to do a better job coaching up its pitchers in the system, and the pitching lab approach is part of that. The standard is continual improvement, and every pitcher needs at least one putaway pitch and the confidence to go after hitters.
“We’re attacking hitters at a decent rate. I think where we were really struggling was putting hitters away.
Just because that was a fact, doesn’t mean that we can’t attack hitters at an even higher rate. … I think the next step is, hopefully, to put hitters away at a higher clip, and our hope is that happens over time.”
Toboni said that in April, and it still frames the conversation now.
The 2026 rotation, which included Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas, simply wasn’t good enough. Washington’s starters finished with a 4.40 ERA overall this morning.
There are 10 teams worse than the Nationals in that category, including two clubs that could still end up in the playoffs: the Astros and White Sox. The Mets’ rotation is fractionally worse than Washington’s in ERA and walks, which is a reminder that spending matters - but spending wisely matters even more.
Right now, the list of 2027 rotation locks is short:
Cade Cavalli 3.12 ERA
Andrew Alvarez 3.47 ERA
The rest is still up in the air.
And that’s why the offseason matters so much. The Nationals were close this year, and everyone could see it.
With a competent bullpen and a rotation that can give them a chance every day, this team becomes a lot easier to picture as a contender. The time feels like now.
Ownership has to act like it.
In Other News...
Nationals Homestand Exposed One Encouraging Shift Fans Needed To See
The Nationals finished a 10-game homestand with six wins, and for a club that had just been slogging through a rough August, the stretch offered something they badly needed: signs that the young core is starting to settle in. Daylen Lile was one of the brighter bats over the past week, Cade Cavalli kept giving the rotation a steady presence and rookie reliever Erik Tolman gave the bullpen a useful jolt with four scoreless outings.
Tolmans rise was especially notable because Washington has been searching for any dependable late-inning answers as it tries to sort out the next wave of arms. The homestand also showed the other side of that evaluation process, with top prospect Luis Perales struggling in his major league debut, a reminder that development rarely moves in a straight line. Even so, the Nationals left the homestand with more encouraging evidence than they had a week earlier, and that is no small thing for a team still trying to build around its younger pieces. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Just Added Infield Depth With One Big Question Attached
The Nationals have added another layer of infield depth, bringing in Buddy Kennedy on a minor league contract after his latest stop with the Giants. Kennedy is headed to Rochester to join the Red Wings, giving Washington a familiar type of midseason insurance policy for a roster that can always use more cover around the infield.
Kennedys resume offers a little of everything the Nationals want to sort through. He showed well at Triple-A this season, which is part of why he remains an interesting option, but his limited major league looks have not gone nearly as smoothly. For Washington, the appeal is clear enough: if he can carry some of that minor league production into the organization, the next question becomes whether there is any path for it to translate when the big league need eventually arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Face A Tough Seaver King Decision At The Worst Time
With the possibility of an MLB lockout hanging over the winter, the Nationals are suddenly weighing more than the usual roster questions when it comes to their top prospects. Any player on the 40-man roster would be barred from team activities if the shutdown begins Dec. 1, a complication that could slow development if the work stoppage drags into the spring. For Washington, that puts a spotlight on a group that includes Jackson Kent, Yohandy Morales, Jared Simpson and shortstop Seaver King, whose rise has become one of the organizations most closely watched storylines.
Kings situation is the most delicate of the bunch because the club has to balance his proximity to the majors against the risk of losing development time at exactly the wrong moment. The broader CBA setup gives non-40-man players more flexibility to keep working with their minor league teams, which is why roster decisions now carry a different kind of weight. For the Nationals, the choice is no longer just about when a prospect is ready. It is also about where he stands if the calendar flips into an uncertain winter. [Read more 🡒]