There has been a recurring theme around the league with giving out contract extensions to young players either immediately after or just before they truly breakout in an effort to save some money in the long run. We've seen this recently with guys like Kristian Campbell and Jackson Merrill getting extended. Also proven elite players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. have also signed extensions to avoid having a down year and losing out on a big payday. The Nationals have a few players that they may look to extend in the coming years. However Mike Rizzo and his team must ask themselves, is it worth it?
MacKenzie Gore
MacKenzie Gore is on his last year before arbitration, which means that they will potentially need to negotiate an extension before the end of the year to avoid those arbitration conversations. While arbitration deals tend to be team friendly, it can strain the relationship between the player and team depending on what is said in those meetings. For Gore, he is set to have a breakout season and already has led this Nationals pitching staff with a great start to his campaign. My expectation is that by the end of the year he has a long-term extension with the team that will keep him in Washington for years to come.
Luis Garcia
Luis Garcia Jr., who has gotten off to a slower start than we had hoped for in 2025, will also potentially be looking for an extension this year or next. During the winter TalkNats.com reported that he would be seeking an extension from the Nationals after switching up his representation and getting away from the Boras Corporation. While he had much of the leverage after a great season last year he needs to pick up his production and quickly otherwise he may have to do another year of arbitration.
CJ Abrams
CJ Abrams will always have a spotlight on him due to him being the centerpiece of the Juan Soto deal. This also means that how that deal is viewed in the future will be heavily based on the future between CJ and the Nats. While CJ is a decent ways away from not being in team control, I believe we can see a Jackson Merrill-esque contract. This means he will potentially be extended to buy out his arbitration and 2-3 years after. This would be a team friendly deal that avoids those awkward conversations at arbitration and also helps CJ as he will still have an opportunity to pursue free agency if he wants to, while being paid better than he would have previously.
All in all, these extensions are good for the game and help to provide stability for fanbases of the organizations that participate in them. Hopefully, the Nationals can step up to the plate and get some deals done that make both the players and fans happy.