WASHINGTON — For each of the last three seasons, the Nationals have been one of the youngest teams in MLB, and, accordingly, made more mistakes than almost any team in MLB. In 2024 and 2025, those mistakes were often handled individually and behind closed doors, rarely to be mentioned again in any sort of group setting.

In 2026, the Nationals have decided to buck conventional wisdom and old habits. The new coaching staff has scoffed at the idea that each generation is less receptive to criticism than the one that came before it. Now, their grievances are more public than ever.

This season, first-year manager Blake Butera and his staff approach a player the day after they make a mental mistake and inform them that they will appear in “a negative light” during the upcoming hitters’ meeting. The idea is to turn the mistake into a teaching moment for the group.

Simple, perhaps, but a sharp change from the past few seasons.

“We’re professionals,” said outfielder Jacob Young before the Nationals’ miscue-filled 9-4 loss to the Braves on Monday. “When you make mistakes, it’s not a bad thing to own up to them. I think we know they’re not trying to pick on you when they’re showing something (you did wrong). They just want to make sure that no one else makes a mistake.

“And I guess if you only correct one person at a time, you can make the same mistake 26 times, which would be kind of stupid. So we’re just adjusting as a team and making sure everyone kind of sees it, and that it doesn’t happen again.”

That doesn’t necessarily mean the Nationals have fixed their issues.

On Sunday, they held a lengthy meeting after a cacophony of mental errors sunk them a day before. Forty-eight hours later, they were yet again brought down by mistakes.

For those who missed Monday’s five-run sixth inning, it included the following: two misplayed ground balls, one ball thrown into the dugout, a hit batter, a passed ball and a nearly-errant throw to second that prevented a potential double play from materializing. It gifted the Braves a win, and gave the Nationals two more errors to bring their MLB-leading total to 23.

Final: Braves 9, Nationals 4

The Nats did not play clean baseball in a five-run sixth. That turned the tides.

Record: 10-13

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) April 21, 2026

That won’t lead to easy conversations, but it could trigger some necessary ones.

“At the end of the day, sometimes you have those meetings and players walk out of there pretty upset with you,” Butera said. “But then a day later, a week later, a year later, they come back and they understand, ‘He told me the truth.’ I think there’s a lot to be said for that, especially in today’s world where there’s a lot of outside noise, whether it be families, agencies, friends, fans, social media, whatever it might be. Players are getting pulled in all these different directions.

“So, I think, when you can be as upfront and transparent with them — and obviously you don’t want to be rude — but when you deliver a bit of information in an empathetic or truthful way, I think it goes a long way.”

Butera said that players have already told him this season that some of their conversations behind closed doors are different than any they’ve had with a manager before.

Only when the mistakes are more physical than mental (like in Monday’s game) will Butera address the player individually and put the onus on the player to fix it. CJ Abrams, for instance, recognized his recent mistakes in the field and said that he needs to charge topspun baseballs.

Washington has consistently ranked poorly in public-facing defensive and baserunning metrics during the rebuild. There have been subtle improvements — they ranked 29th in fielding run value a year ago, and ranked 17th entering Monday’s game, and they’re towards the top of MLB in several baserunning metrics — but the eye test tells a more complicated story.

That’s why they have these meetings. It’s why they’re doing more pre-game work than ever before, which, on Monday, included drills on bunting, baserunning and pickoffs.

But they’re not over the hump yet.

Butera: Braves hit Abrams in retaliation for Acuña

Butera, the youngest manager in MLB has yet to get ejected. On Monday, he had his longest on-field conversation with umpires to date. With three more games left against the Braves this week, could tensions boil over?

On Monday, Nationals starter Jake Irvin hit Ronald Acuña Jr. twice, including right before Irvin was pulled from the game in the sixth. Braves pitcher Bryce Elder then hit Abrams with a first-pitch fastball in the bottom of the frame. After the game, the trio offered the following retorts: Irvin said both pitches inside were accidents, Abrams said he didn’t think about whether he was hit intentionally and Butera said he believed the pitch that hit Abrams in the butt was a retaliatory measure for hitting Acuña.

“I just wanted to kind of get an understanding of what they saw and how they viewed it,” Butera said. “I thought it was pretty clear that CJ got hit right there on purpose. First pitch. (I) understand Acuña got hit twice. It was by no means on purpose or anything like that. Jake just let a couple get away from him.”