2026 has arrived and we hope that is will bring great things to the Washington Nationals franchise. I take notice of the date as we find ourselves now one week away from the arbitration deadline. January 9th is the last day that players can exchange numbers towards avoiding arbitration. As for the Nationals, they have a few names that must still get signed, sealed, and delivered over the next week. Here is the list of the guys yet to avoid arbitration.
CJ Abrams
The Nationals should fully expect to come to a deal with Abrams very soon. His current estimate, per Spotrac, is $5.5 Million. This would be well above his $780k salary in 2025. I think many of us may agree that Abrams is well worth that pay increase as he aims to be a key piece to this infield. Abrams is still under the Nationals umbrella until 2029.
MacKenzie Gore
Despite many rumors going around, it seems like management is set on keeping Gore around unless they get an absurd offer as their ace come Opening Day. Gore is in Year 2 of 3 in his arbitration cycle. He is being valued at about $6.5 Million, and Gore may not have much wiggle room as his trade rumors continue to circulate. He may not be a premier ace in the MLB, but he is well worth the money, in my opinion. We can deal with trade rumors later on.
Jake Irvin
Irvin is controllable for many years to come. He is in Year 1 of his arbitration cycle and he expects to earn about $3.5 Million, per Spotrac. Unlike Gore, this may not be a great deal. Irvin threw to a 5.70 ERA in 2025. He has never had a season better than a 4.41 ERA, in his three year history. At best, Irvin is a bottom-end rotational player, more as a fill-in rather than an asset.
Cade Cavalli
Like Irvin, Cade Cavalli enters his first year of his arbitration cycle. Cavalli returned back to the Nationals this year for the first time since 2022. In 10 games, Cavalli pitched to an ERA for 4.25. A much larger sample size will be key to measuring his long term success in, and past 2026. Nonetheless, he is due to make about $1.975 Million is they come to terms by January 9th. Not to shabby, in my eyes, being roughly 2% of the teams projected payroll.
Luis Garcia Jr.
The Nationals enter Year 3 of this process with Luis Garcia Jr. In 2025, he earned $4.5 Million. In 2026, Garcia Jr. is projected to command $7.8 Million. Now, has he progressed in tandem with his monetary value? Let's take a look.
In 2024, Garcia Jr. batted in a career-best average of .282 and OPS of .762 . I would call this a success. In 2025, Garcia Jr. took a step back, batting to an average of .252 and an OPS of .701 . Garcia Jr. should play a utility item in 2026. We will see how it plays out, but he is an all-around average, veteran utility item that yet might be helpful to this rather young team.