Well, it is finally over. The 185-day ride that the Washington Nationals took fans on this season was filled with twists and turns on its way to becoming one of the franchise’s most disappointing years in the nation’s capital.

As the season wrapped up this past Sunday in a frustrating, yet fitting fashion, a new era officially began in D.C. With these massive expected changes, it is fair to ask and reflect on how the situation reached this point, and what could come next.

Please note that the following are simply my opinions, and that we have no knowledge at this time of how much money the front office will be able to spend this winter or what the real plans are.

On March 27, MacKenzie Gore took the mound against the reigning division champion Phillies, looking to make a statement that would back up management’s spring claims that the rebuild was over. Gore personally rose to the occasion, striking out 13 batters over six innings in his first start as the team’s “ace”. As soon as his day was over, however, the bullpen collapsed. While things looked promising that day from the young stars, it felt the same to me as years prior, where poor bullpen moves by coaches would be costing the team games.

Sadly, this trend continued, and the team started the year 1-6. Fractures were first apparent to me when Luis García Jr. hit a home run in that eighth game, and manager Dave Martinez seemed more concerned with how García over-celebrated the homer. From that point forward, Martinez seemed to be all business and not super into the fun aspects of the game like he was in years past. These tensions reached a boiling point, as the young stars looking to have a good time playing couldn’t do it their way, and Martinez would not back them up with umpires. This exploded during an 11-game losing streak when Martinez told reporters that struggles are “never on coaching”.

Less than a month later, Martinez, along with longtime general manager Mike Rizzo, was fired. The new era was temporarily ushered in by Martinez’s bench coach, Miguel Cairo, while Assistant GM Mike DeBartolo took over for Rizzo.

While the on-field product failed to bounce back under Cairo and the remaining coaching staff, DeBartolo looked ahead, selecting shortstop Eli Willits with the first overall selection in the amateur draft. This move was not without some controversy from Nationals fans, but it has so far looked more promising than if they had gone with another option.

The season, as we all saw, ended with disappointment on the field. Now, the organization moves forward. With Paul Toboni taking the lead role in baseball operations, I have to assume that he was given certain guarantees of ability before taking the job. All that said, I should make it very clear that I did not ever lose faith in the former front office regime, nor in the team on a day-to-day basis, so maybe there is some disconnect between us.

Simply put, the way that 2025 went from a coaching standpoint was a nightmare. Not only was there a divide between the staff and players, creating an “us versus them” mentality, but none of the main coaches were performing at a high enough standard to make young players better. Notably, developing players like Robert Hassell III and Nasim Nuñez were miles better at reaching base in Triple-A with that staff than they did in the majors, and their swings had visible differences that seemed to be introduced by the major league guys, namely Darnell Coles. After the Home Run Derby messed up his swing, Coles was simply unable to restore James Wood to his former self. The base running and infield play were also very underwhelming throughout the season, as was the bullpen and overall pitching performance by players who were supposed to take steps forward, like Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin.

That is not to say things were all bad, however. Rookie outfielder Daylen Lile really pieced things together in the majors while working with Coles and company. Cade Cavalli, Andrew Alvarez, and (down the stretch) most of the bullpen made things work with Jim Hickey as well. Ultimately, however, none of the main coaches on this staff, have done enough to earn their jobs back under the new regime. The only ones I would be willing to bring back personally are team legends Sean Doolittle, Gerardo Parra, and yes, Bob Henley.

Miguel Cairo will most certainly not be renewed as the manager, and nor should he be. In the 72 games he managed, the Nationals played to a 29-43 record, and that is with a 13-13 September. Being 16-30 in the dog days of summer, the most grueling part of the year, and failing to get the most out of the players will not teach anybody how to get through a brutally long season. He also failed to detach his daily decisions and sayings from those of his predecessor. All told, I believe Miguel Cairo could be a decent manager in the right situation, but it is without a doubt time to move forward and give the clubhouse a brand new start.

This is the biggest catch: to show the fans that you want to win, the new manager should be one who has experience leading a dugout. Wasting precious years of MacKenzie Gore, CJ Abrams, Dylan Crews, and James Wood by bringing in a guy who is still figuring out his identity leading a locker room would be counterproductive to everyone in the organization from top to bottom.

Daylen Lile was, in my opinion, the biggest bright spot on the 2025 Nationals. Hitting a monstrous .393 with six homers and seven triples in September and forcing his way into the Rookie of the Year conversations, he gave fans a reason to think he could be the real deal. With the money from Stephen Strasburg’s extension coming off the books after 2026, it is worth talking with Lile and his representation to see what it would take to make a deal.

The reason I say reach out and not straight-up extend him is that Lile is represented by super-agent Scott Boras, who is the agent for Juan Soto and Bryce Harper. His agency also represents other Nationals stars such as Crews, Gore, and Wood. Having preliminary conversations at the very least is an absolute must unless you do not plan on keeping them. I personally would, so that is why it made the list

Yes, he hit three home runs in a game not even a week ago at the time of writing. Yes, he has been here since before the rebuild even began. But yes, I am advocating to trade Luis García Jr.

I have nothing against García. In fact, if this move came to fruition in the real world, I would be pretty sad. That said, he simply isn’t the second baseman of the future in Washington. He is not solid enough defensively, and his value price is only going up as he continues to figure things out at the plate. I think multiple teams would also see an opportunity to fix parts of his game that Washington’s aforementioned lackluster coaching staff couldn’t get out of him.

García is not just a second-baseman, as he can play pretty much anywhere in the infield and even took his first career reps in first base late in September. With him not reaching free agency until 2028, I could see a team wanting to feel the situation out.

I would be cautious, however. With García under club control for three more years, there is zero reason to force a move. There are other players in similar positions (CJ Abrams) who could be dealt for more value, and I expect all players not named James Wood and maybe Dylan Crews to be on the table. Teams will certainly be calling the young Toboni to see where his mind is at, and significant moves will likely follow. I should stress that no move not yielding very solid prospects should be made. I do not want to tear this thing down. However, trading one young solid player like Abrams or García could yield that desired result without destroying the rebuild as a whole.

Since the rebuild began in 2021, the Nationals had a pattern of signing veterans in free agency to mentor the young players, and then flip them at the trade deadline for prospects. There is nothing wrong with this, especially when you were on the hook for approximately $70 million in league payroll for 2024 between Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin. Max Scherzer is still getting deferred payments as well, so if winning was not in the cards, there was no reason to dish out crazy contracts.

However, now is the time to start. Abrams and Gore are arbitration-eligible, as are other notable names like Josiah Gray, Cade Cavalli, and Luis García Jr. Before arbitration and tendering contracts, the 2026 payroll is approximately $47 million. Once you take out Strasburg and Trevor Williams entering 2027, it drops to 5.5, with only Keibert Ruiz (who’s status with the team is unclear) under contract.

This means there is a void to fill, and long-term deals should be on the table. This free agency class is expected to include excellent players both on the mound and at the plate.

Looking at the current 2026 rotation and lineup, it seems to me that the team needs a higher-end starting pitcher and a first baseman as things stand now.

For bats, assuming Boras client Alex Bregman opts out of his deal with Boston, it would be worth picking up the phone to see if Toboni, a former Red Sox executive, could strike up a fair deal. Bregman was rumored to be in talks with Washington last offseason, but now the Nationals are also run by someone he is familiar with. However, this one mainly works if García is dealt. If he is not, somebody would have to move positions to make room for him in the infield.

Pete Alonso is another option, as he could take over first base on a long-term basis. Washington has not had consistently at that position since Ryan Zimmerman retired, and the replacements have been less than ideal. I would personally take whichever of the two (Alonso or Bregman) comes cheaper, seeing as they are only a year apart in age. We also want to avoid the luxury tax, and I don’t believe that having one over the other will drastically alter the outlook of the team. There are ways to re-work the defense to accommodate either option. What I will say, though, is that getting Bregman will mean needing to get a first baseman some other way, as there needs to be a real answer there. Even if it is promoting from within, the position need a fresh face in 2026.

For pitching, I would want to target Dylan Cease. The righty had a slight down year in 2024, but make no mistake, he is still a stud. It is hard to say what type of price he will demand, but it is worth it since his value tanked this year. It would take a very high number for me to be against not bringing him in to D.C.