Nationals 2026 preview: New era starts with plenty of early tests
The Washington Nationals begin not just a new season, but a new era Thursday when they visit the Chicago Cubs.
For the first time since 2017, Davey Martinez won’t be the club’s manager; and for the first time since 2005, Mike Rizzo won’t be in the franchise’s front office.
There was hope last March that the pieces were in place for this team to make the leap from rebuilder to contender, but instead, the Nats took a step back and the Rizzo/Martinez era ended before All-Star Week last summer.
The new brain trust has quite a bit of history to turn around. The Nats have posted six straight losing seasons, making the 2012 to 2019 run of five playoff berths and a World Series title seem like a distant memory.
New President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni and first-year manager Blake Butera begin their construction of this team from the ground up.
“One of the biggest things that this organization is going through right now is, obviously, there’s a huge changeover, but you’ve got to identify there’s a lot of mistakes that were being made. And they haven’t been identified in the past. Now you’re addressing them. And I think that’s a big part of this,” Nats TV analyst Kevin Frandsen told WTOP earlier this month from Spring Training. “I just think there’s a lot that’s a huge positive in a year that’s going to be a big growing year.”
Cade Cavalli is the Opening Day starter, and the right hander’s road to the majors included a major detour — Tommy John surgery in 2023.
“I’m super grateful for the opportunity. It’s been a long road. There’s a lot of days in Florida at the complex, where it’s like, ‘Man, is my time ever going to come?'” Cavalli told the media Monday.
“It’s very frustrating when my body’s not quite cooperating and I think that it’s just a testament of people around me, supporting me, saying, ‘Your time will come.’ And to get in that meeting and be told that, it was very special.”
But this is not a “feel-good” move. The 2020 first round selection has been impressing everyone since the start of Spring Training.
“Looking absolutely fantastic down here in terms of his arsenal, his presence,” Nats TV announcer Dan Kolko said.
“He’s added a new breaking ball this year, he’s throwing a sweeper to go along with his big curveball. He’s throwing 97-98, and just the way he goes about his work on a daily basis.”
Cavalli will front a staff that includes starters such as Foster Griffin and Jake Irvin, plus relievers Brad Lord and Cole Henry. Last year’s staff ranked 29th in team ERA while allowing the fourth most walks in the majors.
The lineup will look quite different from the one trotted out last year, which is typical. For the past six seasons, six different first basemen and six different third basemen have started Opening Day for the Nats. And some players who seemed to be a big part of the future one year ago have either been traded (MacKenzie Gore to Texas), demoted (Dylan Crews to the minors) or shifted (Luis Garcia seeing plenty of time at first base as well as second this spring).
The Nats ranked 21st in runs scored, but their 443 walks taken was the third lowest total in the majors.
James Wood began 2025 with a bang, clobbering 24 homers before All-Star Week, but ended the season with a measly seven homers after the break. The 23-year-old should be more consistent in 2026, and he’s not the only player who Kevin Frandsen will have his eye on as the year progresses.
“How many guys are going to get better? How many guys can prove themselves this year that they are a piece going forward?” Frandsen said.
“That’s the one true question to get from this lineup. So can Daylen Lile prove that he can do it? Does CJ (Abrams) prove that he can play shortstop every day and get better? They have to get answers.”
The schedule does not start softly: four of the Nats’ first five series are against clubs that made the playoffs last fall, including the World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers for the home opener April 3.
Notable series include the Orioles dropping by D.C. from May 15-17, meeting the New York Mets in the District from May 18-21, and Philadelphia stopping by South Capitol Street from June 22-25.