5 questions for Nats entering offseason after promising 2026

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.

The Nationals finished the 2026 season 77-85, an 11-win improvement from last year and the most wins since 2019. On the final day of the season, though, they were left hungry for more.

“We’ve got to figure out how to get better because we just felt like we left a lot of meat on the bone,” said manager Blake Butera.

This winter will be the first with Butera, president of baseball operations Paul Toboni, general manager Ani Kilambi and several other high-ranking front office officials having completed a full season together.

Here are five questions facing the team as they look to take the next step in 2027.

How will the Nationals approach free agency?

In recent years, the Nationals added free agents on expiring or short-term deals. Months later, they flipped them at the Trade Deadline to acquire depth. All-Star Foster Griffin was an example of that in a breakout season. Will we see more of that this winter?

“Generally speaking, future payroll flexibility is a really good thing,” said Toboni. “I'm happy that we're in this spot that we're in. What I would say is that there are creative ways to actually use that payroll, whether it's actually going out and signing free agents or extensions or whatever it might be. What we want to do is -- regardless of how we're going to use the payroll -- do it in a way that sets us up, hopefully, to be a much better team next year, but then be a really good team into the future.”

What is CJ Abrams’ future on the Nationals?

Abrams was at the center of trade buzz last winter, and he is expected to be there again this offseason. Abrams had a career year, earning his second All-Star selection (first as a starter) and posting offensive numbers that landed him atop leaderboards.

If Abrams is not traded this offseason, the Nationals will evaluate where he best fits in the infield.

In August, they tasked Abrams with shifting from shortstop to second base, where Toboni said he believes Abrams has potential to become a Gold Glove defender. Abrams played 14 games at second base, recording a .987 fielding percentage.

Nationals No. 3 prospect (MLB No. 51) Seaver King, who played the majority of this season at shortstop, is projected to debut in 2027.

“We're going to see what [Abrams] looks like in Spring Training,” said Butera. “I think what he's shown us at second base, he's been unbelievable over there. But he's also been unbelievable at shortstop since we had that conversation, right? So I think that he's absolutely earned an opportunity to continue to work at that this offseason. And if he plays shortstop the way that he did these last, whatever it is, six weeks or so, that's a good shortstop.”

Will the Nats add veteran leadership?

The Nationals weren’t just a young team -- they had the youngest average age of position players in the league. Unlike the previous season, they did not have a Josh Bell-esque veteran in the clubhouse to mentor emerging stars like James Wood and Abrams. Instead, the Nationals turned to those young players to develop into leaders themselves.

“This group,” said Butera, “I've been very fortunate that they've been pretty close and they've all been great teammates and people.”

Butera pointed out two examples of when he thinks a veteran presence would have been beneficial to address the team: three consecutive blown saves against the Phillies in June and the Trade Deadline skid.

“There were times that I spoke to the team that I would have loved, maybe, that being taken care of by someone that has gone through something similar,” Butera said. “But I also think these guys have gone through that now, so I think we're going to have some of that happening internally, organically.”

Who will pitch in the starting rotation?

The Nationals will need to identify five starting pitchers for the 2027 rotation. After inking Cade Cavalli to a contract extension last month, there still are many opportunities up for grabs.

“Cade we obviously believe in, and I think he's earned a spot,” Toboni said. “I think Alvy [Andrew Alvarez] has thrown great, and he's put himself in a position where he's going to be throwing, hopefully, a bunch of high-quality innings for us next year. We're very optimistic about Connelly [Early] and what he's shown. Beyond that, we're going to be pretty open-minded.”

Jake Irvin is arbitration-eligible. He is coming off of his fourth season in which he went 2-10 with a 5.48 ERA in 22 appearances (20 starts, two pitching behind an opener).

DJ Herz, who returned from Tommy John surgery to make two starts, will compete for a spot in the starting rotation. Josiah Gray also came back from being sidelined for nearly three years, but he pitched his three games out of the bullpen.

How will the Nationals improve the back-end of the bullpen?

The Nationals set a Major League record with the most blown saves in a single season. Twenty-one players pitched in save opportunities, and 16 pitchers earned a save.

The Nats leader in saves, Clayton Beeter, ended the year in Triple-A Rochester, while rookie Erik Tolman emerged as a reliable ninth-inning option late in the season.

“I wouldn't want to pigeonhole us into just going after guys that have ninth-inning experience,” said Toboni. “Not to say it's not important; it's just that there are countless relievers across the league that aren't throwing in the ninth inning that are really good arms that we'd love to have.”