New president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera have a heavy job to do in the nation’s capital. The Nationals have young talent but also are a prime candidate to finish last in the NL East this season. However, the Nationals did add some intriguing players this winter, including a plethora of pitchers and catcher Harry Ford.

Additions

This winter was also about getting upside players for the Nationals, as the team’s new front office looks to reshape the team for future years. Harry Ford was the centerpiece of the winter additions.

Ford, a former first-round pick by the Mariners in 2021, made his MLB debut late last season after working his way up from the Minors. He had a very successful MiLB career, working opposing pitchers thanks to a plus eye, as well as hitting for power, too.

Obviously, as a catcher, Cal Raleigh was a block for Ford in Seattle. The M’s could have kept him realistically and used him to give Raleigh more days off from behind the plate. However, Ford is a prime prospect who would have been served better as trade capital in that sense.

Now, he’ll fight for playing time right off the bat in 2026 alongside Keibert Ruiz.

Aside from Ford, the Nationals sought to improve the rotation, which was a sore spot in 2025. For those who read our 2025 Nats recap, the team had the second-worst starters’ ERA. Granted, ERA isn’t the be-all, end-all in terms of numbers. However, when it’s that high, it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out that improvements are needed.

However, the Nationals didn’t go extravagant in terms of external additions. After all, the team isn’t in a clear position to compete. Yet, the team still needs to cover innings in 2026.

Perhaps the most interesting pickup was Foster Griffin, a former first-round pick by the Royals a decade ago who revitalized his career in the NPB with the Yomiuri Giants.

The Nationals aren’t going to get velocity with Griffin, who caps out at 92-93 MPH with his fastball. However, he’ll give hitters plenty of different looks, with a four-seamer, a sinker, a sweeper, and a changeup among the weapons in his repertoire.

Griffin was one of several veteran pickups. Washington also signed Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell late in camp. Both have had their moments but both also have their flaws.

Mikolas is a low-whiff pitcher who relies more on pinpoint command to get out hitters. However, he’ll also give up a lot of contact. As for Littell, he can get swings-and-misses but lives up in the zone and gave up a lot of home runs last season.

The Nationals also grabbed an upside pitcher, Griff McGarry. McGarry was a former top prospect in the Phillies system who got a lot of swing-and-miss and controllable outs in Double-A last season. However, McGarry had his command problems in 2023 and 2024.

McGarry was a 2025 Rule 5 Draft pick.

Losses

The Nationals’ rotation will have a clearly different look at the top.

Ace MacKenzie Gore was shipped to the Rangers, really a byproduct of where the team is at the moment. Washington only had two years of control remaining, and the team’s future core is embedded in the minors, particularly at the lower level. Thus, the Nationals re-aligned to bolster the system with quantity.

Speedy outfielder Yeremy Cabrera, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, and high-upside infielders Devin Fitz-Gerald and Gavin Fien were part of the return for Gore.

Washington also flipped closer Jose Ferrer to the Mariners for Ford, mentioned in the last section.

Those were the two major losses, from a long-term perspective. Many of the players who also departed over the winter were journeyman relievers and/or veteran infielders.

Josh Bell had a very good 2025 season back with Washington. However, given the state that the Nationals are in, the team is going younger at first base. Bell signed with the Twins over the winter.

Overview

Expectations for the Nationals should be reserved heading into 2026.

While the team does have a young, exciting outfield, plus pitchers with upside aside from McGarry (Cavalli, Gray), the goal will be to stack wins outside of the win-loss record.

Specifically, play competitive baseball and hope the youngsters make progress for future seasons.

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