The Washington Nationals were just like us on Saturday night, as seemingly the entire sports world was glued to their couch watching one of the most electric Game 7's in MLB history unfold before their very eyes. By now, you should know that the Los Angeles Dodgers surprised absolutely nobody by winning their second consecutive World Series, and the Toronto Blue Jays' shocking run will likely end up not being remembered as well as it should have been.
This year's Game 7 was the first since 2019, when our beloved Nationals took down the Houston Astros against all odds to secure the club's only World Series title to date. Since then, it has obviously all been downhill for the Nationals, but the team's combination of youngsters Paul Toboni and Blake Butera at the helm are looking to lead the organization back to relevance.
To do that, they will obviously have to make dramatic changes to the roster in order to improve the performance on the field, as what they showed this past season was simply not good enough by any means. Part of that falls on coaching, which Butera will hope to fix by hiring his new staff, but part of it was the fact that the personnel on the roster was just not up to par.
Speaking of personnel, the Nationals will now have a decision to make on a trio of players from the 2025 roster, as Josh Bell, Derek Law, and Paul DeJong have now officially become free agents with the World Series in the rear view mirror. It remains to be seen who will be brought back, but they all present different value for the team.
Starting with Derek Law, who was awesome in 2024 before missing the entire 2025 season with injuries, he seems unlikely to be back, although the Nationals would theoretically know better than any other organization just how close he is to being back to full strength with his rehab. Law suffered through a bunch of health setbacks in 2025, but should hopefully be able to get an opportunity either in Washington or elsewhere this season.
Paul DeJong had a wild 2025 season, as he missed a huge chunk of the year after getting hit in the face with a fastball against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He recovered from the injury and ended up being able to appear in just 57 games, but his defense on the left side of the infield made him a valuable presence despite his subpar hitting. He seems unlikely to be back next season for the Nationals.
Finally, Josh Bell is a free agent once again after having one of the most dramatic turnarounds you will ever see from a player halfway through the season. After hitting below .200 into early July, Bell went on a miraculous hot streak and ended up with a solid overall slash line of .239/.326/.421, good for a .747 OPS to go along with 22 homers and 63 RBIs. I wouldn't be surprised if the team looked to get Bell back on a cheap 1-year deal, but he also could get scooped up by a contender looking to add a bit of affordable pop to their lineup as well.