Nationals lay groundwork for winter programs, 2027

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox. This edition was written by MLB digital content fellow Courtney Hollman.

LOS ANGELES -- With a month left on the schedule, the daily objective inside the Washington clubhouse has shifted. Manager Blake Butera and the coaching staff are using every remaining inning to lay the groundwork for a foundation for next season.

While final-month callups like left-handed reliever Jared Simpson and infielder Yohandy Morales adjust to the big leagues, evaluating how the current roster projects into the immediate future has become the priority.

With Washington out of the postseason race, the focus is now on identifying specific areas for growth and outlining targeted player development plans for the months ahead.

"There’ll always be new things, but I think the big rocks in terms of bat speed and angle will always be there,” Butera said regarding winter development goals.

“Just from what we’ve learned this year, we’ve got a chance to evaluate which guys need more of that. Where last year, we did have a chance to spend a year with these guys to understand who could really benefit from the bat speed program. Who could really benefit from a mound velo program that might last six to eight weeks?”

For a staff managing a mix of recent additions like Simpson, Jack Sinclair and Erik Tolman alongside established contributors, setting clear benchmarks for the offseason is top of mind.

“We’ve had a chance to look at some guys this year and say, ‘Hey, if this guy could add 2 mph, he’d be X amount better,’” Butera said. “And if this guy could just add like a little bit more bat speed, he’d be this much better. Part of our job this year was to really look at who could benefit from these things.”

Every player in the clubhouse reached the Majors along a different timeline. While some top prospects move quickly through the system, others spend years grinding through the Minor Leagues or overcoming injuries before earning their opportunity.

“They’ve all gotten here in different ways, and I think that’s the case with almost all Major League players,” Butera said on Friday.

“You learn when times are tough, how did you respond vs. the guy that maybe had the clear path up here? And I don’t think any of the ones that we have really gotten recently have had a clear, easy path the way up here. You look at Tolman, just given the injury history and the stuff that he’s had to do. The Jared Simpsons, of course, the Jack Sinclairs, as you mentioned, have taken a long time. They all have unique trials and tribulations they’ve gone through to get here.”

Building those personalized winter regimens requires collaboration among the coaching, medical and strength-and-conditioning departments to ensure players build strength without taking on excessive wear and tear.

“There are guys on our team right now, and there’s also Minor League guys,” Butera noted regarding who will participate in specialized training programs.

“You can honestly say every hitter on our team could benefit from an increase in bat speed, right? I think you could also say every pitcher on our team could benefit from an increase in velocity. But it’s also looking at how much work they’ve put in this year. A guy that’s thrown a ton of innings, we need to make sure that the velo program for him is going to be at the right time. So we’re mixing in medical and S&C performance side, of course, to button those things up vs. a hitter that maybe didn’t spend a ton of time up here, maybe missed some time about bats.”

While these final four weeks won't alter the standings, every inning left on the schedule gives Washington's young core a head start on 2027 --and provides the team with the baseline data it needs to shape its winter agenda before pitchers and catchers report in February.