The Nationals are not looking great going into the 2026 season. Yes, the team has a great and exciting young core of players, including outfielders James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Daylen Lile, and, of course, shortstop CJ Abrams, but the team lacks both quality starting and relief pitching.
They traded away MacKenzie Gore this offseason, who, yes, allowed a fair amount of runs during his tenure with the team, but always had good strikeout numbers. In his three seasons with the Nationals, Gore had a 4.15 earned run average (ERA) and 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He was the Nats' star pitcher despite his ERA being above 4.
After climbing to the top of the mountain in 2019 to become World Series champions with numerous superstars, nothing has clicked since, and the team has yet to return to the postseason. The Nationals continued making trades as part of their rebuilding, trading away established stars so the team wouldn't have to pay them in free agency. Baseball teams should be in the business of wanting to win, but the Nationals' management doesn't seem to want that. New front office hires took place this season, along with the hiring of a new manager.
Nationals fans thought this would be the change that the team needed--however no star was brought in during free agency. Yes, the team signed Foster Griffin, who had recent success in the Nippon Professional Baseball League, but I don't think that will be enough for several reasons. For one, success overseas doesn't guarantee success here in MLB, especially after a player's first stint in the States didn't go well. Secondly, an NPB signing of a player who flunked in his first stint in the MLB will not excite the fans until he has proven himself.
The Nationals organization does not seem to care about winning games. They made no effort in free agency, once again, to bring in a star or a player with high potential. Having no stars will destroy the fan experience in more ways than the team thinks. Number one, fans love attending games. When the team makes no effort to win, fans will stop buying season ticket plans and single-game tickets.
Also, for fans who do go to games, the stadium won't be full like it was in the days of Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Max Scherzer, Juan Soto, and more. The more fans at the games, the better the fan experience for those in attendance. And how do you improve attendance? Putting all the stars you can on the field--and that starts with free agency.
While my argument starts with the lack of pitching on the field, it doesn't end with it. You just have to put your money where your mouth is if you're an owner of any sports team, so you can sell more tickets and win more games with the stars you can afford.
Stop trying to rebuild. We've seen this before. Just win and sign the stars that you can, not just for the Nationals, but for any struggling team. You will be profitable, it's guaranteed, as long as the front office and owners make an effort.