New Nationals GM Paul Toboni has a lot of work to do. The Nationals struggled mightily again in 2025, and whatever their plan is going to be going forward, there’s surely going to be a lot of change. The six players listed below are fairly likely to be among the players heading out. First, here’s five we’ll be glad to see go.
Paul DeJong
The Nationals signed DeJong for a modest $1.1 million in 2025, and his performance showed why he got so little. He posted just a .642 OPS, returning to his usual bad self at the plate after a modestly better 2024. And his defense was bad for a second straight year; he amassed -4 Total Zone runs and -4 Defensive Runs Saved in very limited time. DeJong’s time as a big leaguer might be coming to an end; even a bad team like the Nationals doesn’t have much room for him. Sure, he’s a veteran presence, but as District on Deck’s Reese Evans pointed out on September 23, the Nationals would be better off finding another veteran to replace DeJong; there are many others out there, of course.
Josh Bell
Bell has been pretty mediocre at the plate the past three years, although his hitting did tick up a bit in 2025. His fielding is well below average, and because of that, Washington used him at DH in 97 of 129 starts this year. Unlike DeJong, he belongs in the major leagues, and some might think that he’s the sort of player who’s well suited to help fill out the roster of a struggling team like the Nationals. However, the Nationals have several young players they would be better off giving time to at first base or DH—or second base, if they decide to shift Luis Garcia from second to first.
Riley Adams
Adams is a well below-average offensive and defensive catcher, and was especially so in 2025, when he posted a disastrous .560 OPS. The Nationals arguably have a hole at catcher, but they do have more interesting options at catcher than Adams; District on Deck's Jackson Lynch wrote Monday that the likely return of Keibert Ruiz and Drew Millas from injuries renders Adams expendable. SB Nation’s Paul Cubbage suggested that Adams should get the majority of the Triple-A reps in 2026, but only until Caleb Lomavita is ready to be promoted. That’s an option, but so is just getting rid of Adams right now.
Jackson Rutledge
Rutledge has struggled mightily in 101.2 big-league innings, posting a 5.75 ERA. His 1.485 WHIP and below-average strikeout rate (86 in 101.2 innings) suggest that the bad ERA is reflective of the quality of pitcher he is. He has failed as both a starter and a reliever, although it’s worth noting that he’s only been given five starts in the majors. He belongs in the minor leagues, and only if the Nationals feel like they have reps available to be handed out down there; if they don’t, they should just get rid of him.
Eduardo Salazar
The Nationals had many bad pitchers in 2025; they gave up 899 runs, which was second-worst to the Rockies, and no one else gave up more than 837. Many of their worst-performing pitchers were rookies who were given very limited reps in the majors, and maybe need more time to figure things out. But Salazar, like Rutledge, has been given enough of a look for Washington to be pretty sure that he doesn’t have much potential. Salazar has a 5.99 ERA in 70.2 career innings, and even that figure doesn’t tell the full story of how bad he’s been; his 1.87 career WHIP is unfathomably awful. He might have already proven that he doesn’t belong in professional baseball.
Now, here’s one National whom we wish could stay, but probably won’t.
Derek Law
Law is a veteran who has improved as his career has gone on. He had an excellent first year in Washington in 2024, posting a 2.60 ERA, but then missed all of 2025 due to injury. It seems unlikely that the Nationals will outbid everyone else for him, given that most other teams are presumably far more committed to winning than Washington. But given how bad the Nationals’ bullpen was last year, they might want to upgrade it just in the name of respectability.