The Nationals are, as of now, still in rebuild mode, as evidenced by all the big-league talent they traded away at the deadline for prospects. The safest strategy for them going forward would be to stay in rebuild mode until they feel like they’ve assembled a stronger core, at which point they could start adding established talent to it. That stronger core probably won’t have assembled yet by the end of this season, especially when looking at the way the team has been playing recently.
However, they’ve been in rebuild mode since at least July 2021—that’s a long time. And every rebuild has to end eventually. So there’s an argument to be made that after four-plus years of cutting costs and stockpiling prospects, they should finally start adding some real pieces to the big-league roster. If they choose to take this path, they’ll have plenty of holes that they could choose to fill around a core headed by James Wood, CJ Abrams, and Mackenzie Gore. Here are their top 5 likely holes this offseason, ranked in order of severity, outside of coaching, the front office, and player development.
1) Bullpen
Washington’s 5.98 bullpen ERA is by far the worst in the sport. The only other teams over 5.00 are the Rockies (5.30) and Athletics (5.26), and they both play in extremely hitter-friendly home parks. As we saw this trade deadline, it seems like almost every team can stand to add to its bullpen, and that’s as true for the Nationals as it is for everyone. Even if Washington doesn’t really intend to make a big push next year, they ‘ll still probably want to patch together their bullpen a bit in the name of respectability. Washington did just claim PJ Poulin off waivers from the Tigers, and Bennett Lehmann wrote on District on Deck that this was an interesting move. But even if Poulin turns out to be a valuable piece, there’s still a lot of work to do in this bullpen.
2) Rotation
Several of the Nationals’ young starters have taken a bit of a step back this year: Mackenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, and Mitchell Parker. Of those three, only Gore feels like a lock for the 2026 rotation. Brad Lord has probably earned a spot in the rotation, and former first-round pick Cade Cavalli could be given a shot next year; Cavalli has spent virtually his whole career in the minors but was just called up, right after District on Deck’s Reese Evens suggested Tuesday that the Nationals should promote him. Considering that Cavalli is already 26 and has a 6.09 ERA in Triple-A this year, the seven and a half weeks left in this season might be all he deserves to prove he can be a part of Washington’s future.
Even if Cavalli performs well, that would still leave the Nationals with two potential holes in their rotation. Since they probably won’t be the most active team in the sport this offseason, they might be more inclined to add just one starter and potentially let Irvin and Parker compete for the final rotation spot. The rotation could use an ace, and it could also use some depth.
3) Catcher
Keibert Ruiz and Riley Adams have both had very bad 2025 seasons, and the best option currently on the roster might be Drew Millas, who has been pretty good in very small sample sizes over three years. As of now, though, we simply haven’t seen enough of Millas to be able to say that he’s the catcher of the future. Sure, his 149 OPS+ this year is nice, but that’s in only 33 at-bats. Catcher is an important position; the Nationals have a very shaky pitching staff, and they could use a quality defensive catcher to help out the staff and help call games.
4) First Base
The Nationals do have Nathaniel Lowe under club control through 2026, and he was a decent player entering 2025. But he has regressed mightily both at the plate and in the field (according to all metrics) this year, and he’s in just the 2nd percentile of baserunning according to Baseball Savant. Considering how many good hitters there are at this position, it wouldn’t be that hard for the Nationals to find an upgrade. Another option would be to move Lowe to DH to replace Josh Bell, who is a free agent at the end of the year. DH is another hole for Washington in a sense, although they could choose to move someone else there, or keep it open for multiple players to rotate through for half days off.
5) Third Base?
Since I chose not to put coaching and had to choose another position, third base has been a revolving door for the Nationals throughout 2025. Youngsters Jose Tena and Brady House and veteran Paul DeJong have all struggled, and DeJong is a free agent after the year. Tena has improved a bit on both sides of the ball this year, and his .260 expected average and .378 expected slugging percentage (according to Baseball Savant) are modestly better than his actual figures of .246 and .359. It’s possible that he could be a part of the team’s future. But if the Nationals are serious about trying to compete in 2026, this is a position they should probably take a look at if they have reason to believe that House isn't the long-term answer, which they most likely do.