The Nationals have toiled in the basement of the National League since winning the 2019 World Series. The 2026 campaign has been a much-needed light at the end of the rebuilding tunnel. It took a revamped front office, a brand-new manager, and a roster overhaul, but the Nats are finally moving in the right direction.
Washington is a team of extremes. The club is tied for the league lead in scoring thanks to a multi-faceted offensive attack. The Nats lead the NL in home runs and pace both leagues in stolen bases. Their pitching staff is among the worst in the game, ranking 26th in ERA. Washington’s defense leads the league in errors by a significant margin.
And then there’s the bullpen. The Nats’ relievers have an incomprehensible 28 blown saves through 97 games. The unit coughed up late leads in all three games against the Yankees to close the first half. The sweep dropped the club’s record below .500 for the first time since early June.
The polarizing nature of the roster, plus the forward-thinking approach it took to build it, puts first-year president of baseball operations Paul Toboni in a fascinating position heading into the deadline. The Nats are four games out of the final Wild Card spot in a jam-packed National League. A 12-game stretch that includes the Athletics, Rockies, and Blue Jays coming out of the break could go a long way toward determining the front office’s approach.
Record: 48-49 (3.6% playoff odds, per FanGraphs)
Sell Mode
Impending free agents: Foster Griffin, Miles Mikolas, Zack Littell, Trevor Williams
Despite the good vibes around the team, selling to some degree still seems the most likely route. Washington might be a serious contender in the NL East in the near future, but these pieces won’t be of much use beyond this season. Recouping value for the veterans could provide a boost to the 2027 squad.
Griffin is the real prize. He’s been one of the best free agent signings of the offseason. After three seasons in Japan, Griffin returned to the States and delivered an All-Star first half. The lefty has posted a sub-3.00 ERA with nearly a strikeout per inning as the ballast of Washington’s rotation. The club is tied for the third-fewest quality starts in the league at 19. Griffin and Cade Cavalli have 18 of them.
The Nats landed Griffin on a modest one-year, $5.5MM deal. Unless his numbers fall off a cliff after the break, he’ll blow that figure out of the water in free agency. The Griffin signing is one of Toboni’s biggest wins in his young tenure. He’ll be fielding calls from every contender in need of starting pitching. Losing Griffin will be debilitating to the rotation, but now is the time to cash in.
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