Is another slow offseason going to hurt the development of the Nationals' young core?

Taking a current look at the projected Washington Nationals' lineup for Opening Day 2026, there's a lot to take in. It's filled with cream of the crop talent like James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams and surprise pieces like Daylen Lile. A young, dynamic core that is supposed to be "generational" and bring meaningful baseball back to our nation's capital.

As Paul Toboni and the newly filled out front office continue to sit on their hands this winter, making just one big league signing so far, the reality of the situation has begun to set in. The Nats are preparing (as of now) to head into the 2026 season with a middle of the pack lineup in terms of proven production and a combined age of a college senior with zero veteran safeguarding or protection.

By blatanly ignoring and refusing to sign a proven, high impact veteran bat, the Nationals aren't just "letting the kids play"... they are being negligent to the point that it could derail the rebuild entirely.

James Wood is the truth. We saw all 31 of his home runs in 2025. But...we also saw the 221 strikeouts and a second half where most teams simply didn't pitch to him. You may ask, why? Because of what was behind him in the lineup. Nothing of threat at all. Even in the cleanup spot. With nothing to show behind him on the lineup card, Wood is going to see nothing but sliders in the dirt until 2027.

Then of course, there's Dylan Crews. After a .208 rookie season, Crews really needs to find his rhythm. Instead of providing a veteran mentor that has been through the 162 game grind, the Nats are seemingly content with letting him "figure it out" as he bats in a lineup with the protection of a soggy napkin. You simply cannot develop players effectively by hanging out your best talent to dry.

Looking past Crews and Wood, perhaps the most baffling of all is the treatment of CJ Abrams. This is a proven All-Star that put up a 3.1 fWAR with 19 home runs and 31 stolen bases. The engine of the team. The front office is treating him like another data point instead of the leader of the team he has become. The focal point of the Washington Nationals.

Abrams is the only guy in the lineup that has truly proven himself so far. Wood is not fair behind and is expected to take even bigger steps forward this year. But even an All-Star can't carry the weight of a team alone. If the Nats do not bring in a veteran presence to take some of the pressure off Abrams, they are asking him to be a savior every single night. That's an easy way to burn out a 25-year-old cornerstone of your franchise.

Paul Toboni has spent the winter reshaping the coaching staff and talking about "scoreboards", but the reality is the only scoreboard that matters is the one at Nationals park. The new 33-year-old manager and a room of laptops can't teach James Wood how to handle a slump or protect CJ Abrams in a tight game.

By hoarding money while the rest of the NL East is spending like they're in a nuclear arms race, the Nationals are wasting both the cheapest and most valuable years of their stars. If the Nats don't make a major move for a veteran bat before Opening Day, they aren't building a contendor but rather running a never ending cycle of mediocracy at the expense of their players.