Blake Butera is sticking with the same coaching group for his second season as Nationals manager, and the move makes sense after Washington’s 2026 jump. The club is bringing back its entire staff, a decision that follows an 11-game improvement from 2025 and keeps the continuity in place after a season with real progress on one side of the ball and more mixed results on the other.
The biggest question mark sits with the pitching side, where the Nationals are keeping assistant Dustin Glant, Sean Doolittle and lead pitching coach Simon Mathews. Doolittle was the only one of the three already in the organization before 2026.
On paper, the numbers were not flattering: Washington’s 4.67 team ERA ranked fifth worst in baseball, and the bullpen also set the all-time blown saves record in 2026. Even with the offense taking a big step forward, the pitching staff did not move nearly as quickly.
Still, there was measurable improvement. The Nationals dropped their team ERA from 5.35 in 2025 to 4.67 in 2026, and they did it without some massive leap in overall talent. Even the bullpen, despite the record for blown saves, posted a lower ERA in 2026 than it did the year before.
There were also individual wins worth pointing to, and none bigger than Cade Cavalli. The right-hander was already a popular breakout candidate because of his stuff, but he went well beyond expectations with a 3.02 ERA and 200 strikeouts in 169.2 innings. The sweeper the staff helped him develop was a major part of that leap.
That kind of result is a strong point in Mathews’ favor, but it also sets up 2027 as a prove-it season for the pitching group. With Cavalli, Connelly Early and Andrew Alvarez in the rotation, there is more talent starting to line up. Now the challenge is showing that Mathews and his staff can keep extracting the most from it.
On the hitting side, the tone is much different. Matt Borgschulte and assistants Andrew Aydt and Shawn O’Malley oversaw an offense that beat expectations by a wide margin and finished as a top-five unit in most metrics. The staff clearly had a hand in shaping a group that turned into one of the more dangerous lineups in the league.
The improvements were visible in all kinds of ways. Keibert Ruiz became an air pull machine.
Jacob Young lifted the ball more and reached another level. James Wood and CJ Abrams were also better than ever.
There is not much to nitpick there.
Bobby Wilson also deserves mention for his work with the catching group. The Nationals’ catching coach helped turn Keibert Ruiz from arguably the worst defensive catcher in baseball into an above-average backstop, and that development showed up in the day-to-day work around the ballpark.
All told, there is plenty of reason for Washington to keep this group together. The pitching coaches have more pressure on them than the hitting staff, but they earned another shot with more talent to work with.
At the end of the Davey Martinez era, the coaching staff was a major problem. Entering year two under Butera, that no longer looks like the case.
In Other News...
Nationals Just Lost A Familiar Catching Option Fans Knew Well
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The Red Sox are bringing Adams in as a depth option behind their primary catchers, giving him a familiar role as a seasoned organizational backup. For Nationals fans, it leaves behind a player they knew well from the farm system and another small but notable bit of roster churn to track as the winter moves along. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Prospect Keeps Proving He Can Handle Susanas Best Stuff
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For Bazzell, the challenge has been as much physical as technical. He has shifted to a one-knee-down stance to help with framing, and the fact that he is back catching high-velocity pitching at all says plenty after he recovered from a broken left orbital bone suffered in April. For Washington, it is another encouraging sign that one of its catching prospects can keep up with one of its hardest-throwing arms. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Face One Big Front Office Question Before A Possible Lockout
With the Dec. 2 deadline looming and no collective bargaining agreement in place, the possibility of an MLB lockout is already shaping how front offices are approaching the winter. Around the game, that has created a sense that the transaction window could get busy before the sport potentially shuts down, and the Nationals are very much part of that conversation as they weigh their own offseason priorities.
For Washington, the big question is how aggressively it wants to move before any freeze hits, especially with a player like CJ Abrams sitting near the center of the clubs long-term picture. Industry insiders have seen this kind of race against the clock before, with last-minute signings and trades sometimes coming together as deadlines approach, but there are no confirmed deals yet and the uncertainty leaves plenty of room for a flurry of activity. [Read more 🡒]