It is no secret that pitching is a major concern for the Washington Nationals. As a team, they posted a 5.35 ERA, the worst mark since the franchise moved to DC. There is also a strong possibility that the Nats trade their best pitcher, MacKenzie Gore. This made me wonder about how Paul Toboni and Blake Butera will manage the pitching staff.
Well, one thing they are going to do is add some free agent talent. Mark Zuckerman reported that the Nats met with some agents at the Winter Meetings and that pitching
is the top priority for Paul Toboni. However, it is unlikely that the Nats will be shopping at the top of the market. A lottery ticket like Dustin May or a proven innings eater like Zack Littell feels more likely than an expensive ace.
However, additions are not the main thing I want to talk about today. Right now I am more intrigued about how Paul Toboni and Blake Butera will deploy their pitchers. Last season, the Nationals used a traditional pitching set up. They had five starters and a bullpen. Those five starters would change, but they had five guys they used as traditional starters.
There is a chance that this changes in 2026 though. Over the last half decade or so, the idea of bullpen games have become more popular. Teams use an opener to go one or two innings before turning to a long reliever who goes about four innings.Th Ideally that pairing would get you through five or six innings and then you can turn to the rest of your bullpen.
This idea was popularized by the Rays back in 2018. Ironically, both Blake Butera and bench coach Michael Johns come from the Rays organization, so maybe they could help bring that idea to DC. The reason I bring this up is because I think this would help get the best out of the arms the Nats have.
Brad Lord and Andrew Alvarez are two players that would be well suited in the bulk man role. Both seem best suited to multi-inning relief work. Once hitters see them a third time, they start to get figured out. Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin could also be candidates to be used in this role.
Lord is a pitcher I think would absolutely thrive in this role. He was solid in the rotation, but he did his best work out of the bullpen. Lord was excellent in two to three inning spurts. He does not have a very deep pitch mix, so he is not very well suited to seeing a lineup for a third time.
Obviously, you cannot do this every game. It would put too much strain on the bullpen. The Nats will need starters who can consistently deliver six innings. If Gore sticks around, he will be relied upon to go deeper into games. Cade Cavalli is another guy who is going to have to step up as a true starter.
The Nats will also need to acquire an innings eater or two as well. Chris Bassitt or Zack Littell would be perfect for that role. Bassitt has thrown at least 170 innings in each of the last four seasons and has posted a sub-4 ERA in three of those years. Littell has also been very durable the last two seasons as a starter.
In the Paul Toboni era, the Nats are not going to be afraid to try new things. Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez mostly played it by the book in how they deployed pitchers. I have a feeling that this will be different in 2026. The Nats are not going to trot out Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker every fifth day, expecting five or six innings.
Hopefully the Nats get to a point where they have enough quality starting pitching to be more traditional. However, they are not at that point right now and Blake Butera will have to get creative. Even for this approach to work, the Nats need more arms in the rotation and bullpen.
However, when you have lesser talent, it is more effective to operate this way than to use a traditional five man rotation. The Nats have a lot of names that can pitch, but not many exciting options. This could be a way to get guys like Parker, Irvin, Lord, Alvarez, Josiah Gray and Trevor Williams involved.
How Blake Butera uses this pitching staff will be a good test of his managerial chops. As a 33 year old manager, most of the questions have naturally been about how he will lead the clubhouse. However, he also has a lot to prove as a tactician as well. He has a lot of pieces on this pitching staff, but he does not have an ace up his sleeve. Let’s see how Blake Butera plays his cards.
