The Nationals’ 2026 season has had its share of bright spots, but the frustrations have piled up just as fast. Washington has moved forward in its rebuild, yet the list of things that have gone sideways is still long enough to fill an entire conversation. The blown saves record is the glaring headline, but there are other disappointments shaping the year, too.
José Tena sits near the top of that list. He has spent parts of three seasons with Washington and has appeared in 199 games for the club, including 108 this year.
Injuries have been part of the picture, but production has been the bigger issue. His WAR is -0.4, which puts him below replacement level, and the bat hasn’t helped much either.
Tena is hitting .227 with 7 home runs and an OPS+ of 88. In a season where the Nationals have needed more from the corners, that hasn’t been enough.
The team will need a better answer there moving forward, especially with James Wood and CJ Abrams already giving the club a real foundation after both were All-Stars this past July.
Dylan Crews is a different kind of disappointment, because the talent is obvious. The second overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, taken behind college teammate Paul Skenes, came to Washington with plenty of buzz after winning a National Title at Louisiana State University.
The problem has been availability. Since reaching the majors in 2024, Crews has played in only 211 games.
He appeared in 85 games last season and has 95 games so far this year. His career WAR sits at 1.3, and that number reflects how hard it’s been for him to stay on the field.
The upside is still there, though. If he can get healthy and return to the kind of level he showed in college, where he hit .380 with a 1.187 OPS, he could still become a major piece.
Then there’s Miles Mikolas, along with the broader group of starting pitchers who left their mark on the season in the wrong way. Mikolas is no longer on the roster, but the Nationals kept him until he reached 10 years of major league service time, a move the source described as classy.
What he did on the mound for Washington, however, was not pretty. He finished with a -0.9 WAR, a 3-9 record, and a 5.82 ERA, which came with an ERA+ of 74.
He also accounted for a noticeable chunk of the team’s losses during a year in which the Nationals sat at 67-81. Even with his departure, his season still belongs in the conversation when talking about Washington’s biggest disappointments.
The Nationals have made progress in their rebuild, but the uneven play has kept plenty of issues in view. Tena’s struggles, Crews’ health, and the rotation’s rough stretches have all helped define a season that has been entertaining, but far from clean.
In Other News...
Nationals Depth Arms Are Creating A Late-Season Question
Late in the season, the Nationals lower-level pitching inventory is still offering small reminders that the organization has more than one arm worth tracking. At Rochester, DJ Herz turned in another solid outing, working 4 innings and limiting the damage to one run as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre came away with a 5-3 win. In the same game, Rochester also got a look at Cayden Wallaces power, with his 11th homer of the year providing one of the more notable swings of the day.
The more interesting tension for Washington is how those depth arms are stacking up in the system at once. New Hampshire fell 2-1 in 10 innings after a walk-off two-run homer, but the game had been shaped earlier by scoreless work from Yoel Tejada Jr. and Alex Clemmey before Thomas Schultz entered late and the inning unraveled. For a club watching closely for rotation help beyond the obvious names, those mixed results only sharpen the question of who is pushing closest to the conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Lottery Odds Could Shape Their Next Big Roster Break
The MLB draft lottery has already changed how the Nationals think about finishing at the bottom of the standings. Instead of the old worst-record-first setup, the three worst teams now share equal odds at the top pick, and Washington has already lived through the volatility of that system, going second in 2023 before landing the first pick in 2025. For a franchise trying to rebuild through the draft, the difference between a favorable bounce and a modest slide can shape the next wave of talent.
Looking ahead to 2027, the lottery picture is already starting to take shape, with some clubs removed from the pool because of market size or recent top selections. The Nationals are part of that conversation again, and the broader appeal is obvious: one draw can alter the course of an entire roster plan, especially when the next class is still coming into focus and the early pecking order remains fluid. [Read more 🡒]
Nats Push For Series Win As Pitching Plans Suddenly Get Interesting
A win in the previous game left Washington with a chance to take the series, and the pitching picture around it has changed quickly. Andrew Alvarez is set to start as the left-hander gets the ball, while the clubs offense has continued to do enough to keep the Nationals in a good spot, with a positive run differential and a top-three ranking in MLB in runs scored this season.
The roster churn has been part of the story, too, with the Nationals making several moves as they try to keep the staff moving in the right direction. Harry Ford is dealing with an injury concern but avoided an injured-list stint, and the clubs latest mix of arms now gives the next game a little more intrigue than it had a day ago. [Read more 🡒]