The Washington Nationals season begins in a matter of hours, so I wanted to share some finals thoughts before the games begin. While expectations are not high in the nation’s capital, there is still plenty of intrigue. The Nats have a new manager, a new front office and a new philosophy heading into 2026.
Speaking of that new manager, I am very curious to see how Blake Butera settles into his new role. He is the youngest MLB manager in decades and will have to handle the grind of a 162 game schedule.
Butera will be one of the stories of the season, and it will be exciting to follow. I have gotten to talk with him a couple times now and he is clearly a very bright and emotionally intelligent person.
However, being an MLB manager is tough, especially for a 33 year old. There will be plenty of bumps in the road this season, and I am interested in seeing how Butera handles them. On the field, I am curious to see how his in game decision making varies from the old regime. How will he deploy the bullpen and what will the lineups look like? We will find out before too long.
The offense is also something to watch. Matt Borgschulte is the new hitting coach, and his methods will be different from Darnell Coles. I would expect the Nats to be more patient and hit fewer ground balls. However, that could also mean more strikeouts and pop ups, especially in the beginning of the season.
We saw this in Spring Training. The bats were very quiet. Hopefully the bats will come around now that the regular season is here, but I anticipate some growing pains. The lineup is already thin on paper and that is before considering the philosophical shift.
For the offense to be respectable, the Nats need to get the first half version of James Wood. The young outfielder took the league by storm in the first half, but really struggled with strikeouts down the stretch. This spring, he has looked like the hitter that struggled in the second half. That has to change, or else this Nats offense could be tough to watch.
The Nats really need Wood to be an aircraft carrier in the middle of the lineup. They have some nice pieces in CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile, Luis Garcia Jr. and potentially Brady House, but Wood needs to be the center piece. He is the only guy in the lineup with 40 home run potential.
This spring, there was only one real positive for the Nats on the offensive side of the ball. That was Brady House, who destroyed baseballs all spring. He hit over .400 and was showing his extra base power. This is a big year for House, who struggled in his MLB debut. However, it is important to remember House is still just 22 years old.
House will never have a Juan Soto type eye, but if he can punish pitches in the zone, he can be a quality starting third baseman. He has a good glove at the hot corner, now he just needs to tap into his raw power on a consistent basis.
The biggest positive this spring was the pitching staff and I am actually relatively bullish on them entering the season. Last year, the pitching was a disaster but I think they will take big steps this season. Cutting down on fastball usage is one simple step that I believe will pay big dividends. I also believe in this new front office’s ability to patch together a solid bullpen, even without big names.
There are some questions in the rotation, but I think this is the year that Cade Cavalli establishes himself. He has always had the stuff, but he has been plagued by injuries. Now, he is finally healthy and looked amazing this spring. Cavalli is adding pitches to his arsenal and really developing rather than focusing on staying healthy.
Cavalli may be 27 already, but he is still a developing player. Sometimes pitchers can peak a bit later, and I think the best of Cavalli will come in his late 20’s and early 30’s. He has a power arsenal, the ability to keep the ball on the ground and throws strikes at a high clip. Do not be surprised if he puts together the best Nats pitching season since the glory days of Max Scherzer.
Overall, I think the Nats record will look pretty similar to what it did last year. Some are predicting 100 losses and being worse than the Rockies. However, I am not buying that. The coaching should be better and I think the pitching will take a big leap.
Offense may be tough to come by, but I think the Nats will be scrappy in 2026. They will fight, but they still won’t be great. Last season was filled with a lot of bad baseball. I have faith that they will be a fun bad team, rather than a straight up depressing one.
