The Washington Nationals’ season ended yesterday not with a bang, but with a whimper. Four White Sox pitchers shut the Nats out, allowing a lone single to Brady House, while Chicago battered six Washington hurlers (especially starter Brad Lord and the first reliever, Shinnosuke Ogasawara) for 10 hits and eight runs.
The loss gave Chicago the series and squared the Nationals’ September record at 13-13. The .500 month allowed Washington to avoid a 100-loss season, but the team’s 66-96 record was disappointing by any measure. Interim manager Miguel Cairo’s .403 winning percentage was a bit below the team’s .407 mark for the year, so there’s no reason to think he will be retained. Expect Paul Toboni, Washington’s newly hired president of baseball operations, to replace the entire coaching staff and quite possibly interim GM Mike DeBartolo as well. And not many of the players should consider their jobs safe, either.
Outfield
What appeared to be a glut of promising young outfielders may hold less promise than we thought. All Star James Wood hit 31 homers, drove in 94 runs and led the team in most offensive categories, but his production dropped off precipitously after the break, and he led the majors in strikeouts with 221. Players like Dylan Crews, Robert Hassell III and Jacob Young flashed impressive defensive skills, but showed little at the plate; Crews’ 10 homers indicated power potential, but his .208 average was the worst of the three. The big surprise of the season was Daylen Lile, who hadn’t been mentioned among the team’s top prospects, showed more than any of the others, hitting .299 and leading the team with 11 triples – fourth in the majors – in only 321 at-bats.
Infield
Expectations were high that Washington’s young infielders would continue their improvement, but that didn’t happen. In fact, there’s nothing particularly special going on among the Nats’ infielders, except for CJ Abrams tying the Mets’ Francisco Lindor for the National League lead among shortstops with 35 doubles. By virtually any other offensive measure, Nationals infielders were middle-of-the-pack at best. Prospect Brady House got a good look at third base, where he flashed a decent glove and arm, but the jury’s still out on whether he can hit major league pitching consistently.
Catchers
The acquisition of Keibert Ruiz from the Dodgers in 2021 could have been a pivotal moment for the Nationals. He hit 18 homers and batted .260 in 2023, and some of us thought Ruiz would be a fixture and a force in the lineup and a perennial All Star for years. But his production has declined steadily since then, and his future with Washington isn’t nearly as bright as it once was. Riley Adams and Drew Millas are likeable players, but neither has shown they could be a dependable starter. Washington drafted several catchers last year, but will any be ready for the majors in 2026? Not likely.
Pitchers
MacKenzie Gore made the All Star team this year, at which point he was among the leaders in the majors in strikeouts. Like Wood, though, Gore’s post-break performance bore little resemblance to the pitcher he was in the first half. Making the All Star team doesn’t bode well for Nats’ pitchers. Josiah Gray made it in 2024 and soon thereafter found himself injured and hasn’t pitched since. Kyle Finnegan is a Detroit Tiger now. Mitchell Parker, who was a pleasant surprise last season, couldn’t replicate that this year. Jake Irvin, likewise, showed no improvement over his 2024 performance. Jose A. Ferrer led the team with 11 saves in 15 opportunities after Finnegan was traded, but his 4.48 ERA certainly doesn’t suggest any firm grip on the closer job. It was better than average on this team, though; the Nationals’ team ERA was 5.35 – only woeful Colorado (5.97) was worse in the majors.
A tall order
Based on their 2025 performances, Wood, Lile, Abrams, Gore and possibly Crews have the best chances to be Nationals in 2026, but nobody on the roster should be comfortable. The only certainty: Toboni has a lot of work to do to return this team to anything approaching contender status.
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