A lost season in baseball is never truly lost. There is always development to be had, always moves to be made. The Washington Nationals are not bound for the 2025 Major League Baseball Postseason, but on the heels of a regime being toppled and the Draft now behind us, the team can make a statement in the second half. Here's a few ways that can happen:
Cade Cavalli's long-awaited return
One can expect that Cavalli's return to the major leagues will happen before September. The organization early in the year was pretty forthcoming about its plans with Cade: they want him up as a starter, and coming off two fully missed seasons, they plan on letting him build back up to an actual starter's workload at Triple-A so they don't need to constantly option and recall him to monitor said workload. We seem to be in the late stages of that build back up, though; Cavalli, in his own words, has begun alternating speeds on his fastball in an effort to embrace more of a finesse-based approach to pitching, and recently hit a season-high 99.6 MPH on the four-seam. All but one, in fact, of his fastballs at 98.0 MPH or higher came since the start of June.
Cade's immediate success isn't critical to the purported success of the second half of this Nationals season. Simply making the leap back to the big leagues is a huge step forward for both Cavalli and the team alike; finally getting settled in to Major League hitting and pitching on a Major League schedule will be the next challenge. Either way, with enough patience, the future is bright for Cavalli right now.
Dylan Crews getting off the shelf
Bennett wrote Thursday about DC3 being on the verge of a rehab assignment, presumably with Triple-A Rochester. The results weren't great during his start to the campaign, but Baseball Savant's rolling xwOBA chart had him above league average during all of his last 100 plate appearances before going down. Crews, if nothing else, provides a spark for the offense in an outfield that's been faced with a rotating door in center and right field.
The National League Rookie of the Year Award is almost certainly out of reach for Crews, who hasn't seen game action in two months, but some more time on the field and a chance to really right the ship does a body good and certainly boosts the team's outlook going forward.
Keep the transactions coming
The Nationals need to continue to be active in minor league free agency and on the waiver wire, especially when it comes to the bullpen. Needing to sign Luis García Jr.'s long-lost father does illustrate how dire the situation is, especially with Derek Law set to miss the entire season after it was found he needed flexor tendon surgery. It's only further validation, then, for the team to continue to pursue whatever slight upside can be found in midseason free agency and on the waiver wire; the trade deadline (July 31) and deadline for players to be Postseason eligible (August 31) are prime opportunities to find a hidden gem, as Mike Rizzo did with Robert Garcia following the 2023 trade deadline.
There's more to be had than meets the eye as the dog days of summer approach. MacKenzie Gore avoiding the late-season struggles that have plagued his last couple campaigns could be a huge sign that he's truly ready to be a staff ace. Luis García Jr. finally placating his Baseball Savant splits by breaking out offensively down the stretch would be a massive boon for the team. Jake Irvin or Mitchell Parker hitting their stride after a miserable first half would also massively improve prospects. There's much to be had and much to be learned from the second half of the season, even for a team well on the outs.