Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals

Throughout the offseason, one of the more awkward times of the year is the subject of arbitration for players and teams around Major League Baseball. Their case is a true first, as Skubal and his camp are seeking $32 million in salary for 2026, which would be a record awarded in arbitration. The Tigers filed at $19 million, which leaves the side $13 million apart as rumors of Skubal being traded to the highest bidder will only surely increase moving forward.

The numbers are staggering. Since being drafted in the first round of the MLB Draft in 2020, Cavalli has unfortunately not been able to stay healthy, spending limited time on the big-league mound. Between Tommy John surgery and the "dead arm" setbacks that pushed back his return in 2025, he has become the equivalent of a McLaren that never leaves the garage.

On that day, Washington officially announced the signing of Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210 million contract. At the time, it marked the largest deal ever given to a right-handed pitcher and a clear signal that the Nationals were serious about winning. Scherzer arrived in Washington from the Detroit Tigers. Already an established ace, he still exceeded expectations. From 2015 to 2021, he posted a 2.80 ERA across 189 appearances and struck out 1,610 batters.

As of December 29th, 2025 take a look at the projected 2026 payroll for the Washington Nationals. Go ahead, pull it up. As of right now, it's hovering right around $98 million. This is in a division where the Mets and Phillies are both treating the league's luxury tax as nothing more than a suggestion, the Nationals are currently ranked in the bottom third in spending.

Nuñez isn't a household name, and his stat line won't turn heads. But by the end of 2025, he was doing things that stood out in other ways. The Bronx native made the most of every opportunity, showing off elite defense, disruptive speed and a late-season power surge. If that version of Nuñez shows up in spring training, he'll be tough to keep off the field.

First signed by the Rockies organization out of the Dominican Republic as an international free agent, Bernabel spent his entire career with Colorado before hitting free agency this offseason. In 75 games with Triple-A Albuquerque this year, he hit .301 with an .806 OPS, showing strong contact skills. His path hasn't been easy. In addition to recurring back injuries, he even recovered from gunshot wounds after being caught in the crossfire of a robbery attempt in the Dominican Republic. That resilience and his Triple-A performance helped him earn a late-July call-up to Colorado.

My dad and I got to the stadium early to watch players warm up and get autographs--we were in the stands down the right field line. It was drizzly... There were almost zero fans in there at the time. It had rained the night before, but neither team was outstanding by any means, so attendance was low as a result. I got the full attention of the players.

Last year, the right-handed reliever was in AAA with the Royals, where he posted a 4.87 ERA in 57 and a third innings pitched. These are not numbers that most fans would get excited about. However, Nogosek has untapped potential. He has a fastball that is about league average velocity, and his primary offspeed offering is a sweeper with almost 20 inches of horizontal break.

Despite being a near-unwatchable product on the field in recent years, the Washington Nationals have had pretty fantastic luck when it comes to having the odds bounce in their favor. Specifically, the ping pong balls for the MLB Draft Lottery have resulted in their favor more often than not, but the team has been unable to take full advantage. Them not being able to take advantage is actually no fault of their own but is in fact due to an outright stupid rule change that Major League Baseball implemented a few years ago.

Aside front ace southpaw MacKenzie Gore, Washington's pitching staff struggled mightily in 2025. Young starters Jake Irvin and Mitchell Parker took major steps back after solid showings in 2024. Trevor Williams pitched more like his 2023 self than 2024. Kyle Finnegan was inconsistent and wound up getting traded, and no young relievers (perhaps with the exception of Brad Lord) stepped up in a meaningful way.

As we as a site have pointed out at length, specifically back at the trade deadline, the case for trading Gore is a very simple one to comprehend. He is a Scott Boras client, who is notorious for not having his players sign extensions before going to free agency, and the Nationals don't seem close to competing with him before he hits free agency after the 2027 season.

As part of their efforts to provide their upper levels of the minor leagues with more depth, the team has brought in righty Tyler Baum, a former touted arm in the Athletics' organization. As for some background on Baum, he was a 2nd-round pick by the then Oakland A's back in 2019 with the 66th pick out of the University of North Carolina.

If you remember back about a year ago at this time, things looked pretty wild for the Washington Nationals and former closer Kyle Finnegan. The righty was coming off an All-Star 2024 campaign, but his underlying metrics told more of the full story. Finnegan had been a beneficiary of some good luck, and his lack of swing-and-miss stuff was keeping him from unlocking his true potential as a late inning option for the Nationals.