This season could get a whole lot weirder down the stretch.<\/p>\n
The Washington Nationals\u2019 star outfielder, James Wood, is on the shelf, and their star shortstop (or second baseman, I guess), CJ Abrams, could join him soon. They have been one of the worst teams in MLB since late July, which is to say that they probably will not finish with a winning record in 2026, but can pull some levers that could help them earn one in 2027.<\/p>\n
Here are some thoughts on the Nats:<\/p>\n
Nats should consider turning starters into relievers, vice versa<\/p>\n
Whether it was the former team of manager Blake Butera (the Tampa Bay Rays) or pitching director Grayson Crawford (New York Mets), the Nationals know what it takes to turn relievers into starters \u2014 something the team has largely shunned in the past.<\/p>\n
Other teams have learned<\/a> that transition is possible if a pitcher can fill up the zone, get both-sided hitters out, have one \u201cplus\u201d pitch and a deeper arsenal behind it. The Nats have a few candidates on the 40-man roster with unclear futures who could fit that profile.<\/p>\n Lefty Will Dion fits those characteristics on the big-league roster. Triple-A Rochester\u2019s pitching staff is almost entirely composed of relievers at the moment, which has given a few pitchers (righty Zak Kent, lefty Jared Simpson) a shot to try the switch out in the interim. Eddy Yean is also an arm worth considering if he widens his mix.<\/p>\n Then, of course, there\u2019s the inverse: turning a starter into a reliever. One candidate could be Jake Irvin, who has a 5.80 ERA this season and is far more effective when his velocity is up.<\/p>\n Given the state of the pitching staff and the growth it needs next year, some educated dart throws could be wise.<\/p>\n Team pillars generally can\u2019t be platoon bats<\/p>\n The Nationals have the highest-scoring offense in MLB and arguably the best platoon-hitting offense in baseball. It seems like the right formula, and I don\u2019t imagine they\u2019ll deviate from it next year.<\/p>\n Still, there are only so many spots on the roster, which complicates matters. A first-base platoon is likely to take up two roster spots in 2027. Additionally, the upper levels of the minor leagues are largely filled with right-handed bats, which makes it even more important for Brady House and Dylan Crews (and to a lesser extent, Jacob Young) to hit righties \u2014 there isn\u2019t an obvious platoon bat on the way.<\/p>\n PositionPlayerHandednessOPS vs. LHPOPS vs. RHP<\/p>\n 3B<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n 1.002<\/p>\n 0.528<\/p>\n OF<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n 0.857<\/p>\n 0.533<\/p>\n OF<\/p>\n Right<\/p>\n 0.847<\/p>\n 0.642<\/p>\n OF<\/p>\n Left<\/p>\n 0.546<\/p>\n 0.742<\/p>\n Nats could experiment with funky defensive look<\/p>\n Andres Chaparro has finally earned regular at-bats, and he now leads MLB with a 1.183 OPS in the second half<\/a>, which prompts a 2027 roster question: Would they consider putting Chaparro at first base against lefties to platoon with Abimelec Ortiz and play him at third base against righties to reprieve House, who has struggled against righties?<\/p>\n That certainly seems like the best offensive construction even if it\u2019s an odd fit defensively, and the emergence of a prospect who could play third base \u2014 perhaps Seaver King, who probably deserves a promotion as is and just got his first reps at third base \u2014 could throw a wrench in this.<\/p>\n Chaparro gets semi-regular work at third base pregame but has played just three innings there. He had a decent defensive reputation at third base in the minors, but he doesn\u2019t totally profile at that spot in the majors. It would be a risk. Still, it would help clarify the roster construction if the Nats believe his production will carry into 2027 and believe the glove can translate.<\/p>\n Which, of course, is a lot of times to say \u201cbelieve.\u201d<\/p>\n Injury fortunes should factor into 2027 outlook<\/p>\n Washington has been fortunate on the injury front up until this point. Wood is sidelined with an oblique that doesn\u2019t seem to be improving as he or the team would have hoped. Abrams, right before he was set to move to second base, is day to day with a sprained ankle and could require imaging, Butera told reporters in Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n For as good as the Nats have been this season, and for as much as I expect them to take a step forward in 2027, their depth really hasn\u2019t been tested. Some bozo (me<\/a>) should have factored that in when he said they were going to use the most players in MLB this season. This next stretch, depending on Abrams\u2019 health, could tell us a good bit about their ability to weather a storm.<\/p>\n I have also heard that the Nationals expect their biomechanics\/strength and conditioning group to get an influx of new tools and information next season. Perhaps that will help too.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to get a 200 K season from Cade Cavalli<\/p>\n Why? He\u2019s been one of the best pitchers in MLB for two months, helped in large part by a new cutter. He would be the first National since 2019<\/a> to accomplish the feat.<\/p>\n Also, when asked about managing a pitcher\u2019s innings based on the previous year\u2019s workload, Butera said, \u201cWe don\u2019t really believe that\u2019s the answer, unless it\u2019s some crazy injury they\u2019re coming off of, and the doctor recommends that. But a lot of what we\u2019re doing is just monitoring the stuff, monitoring the workload, and making sure that everything\u2019s staying on the same trend line that we\u2019ve seen thus far. And if that starts to wiggle at all, we\u2019ll make our adjustments.\u201d<\/p>\n Three random things that deserve love The Nationals have had a sharp decline in fastball usage in the second half, which is good, but they\u2019re still not missing any bats, which makes me wonder how many levers they have left to pull with the current personnel.<\/p>\n The Nats have said playing Nasim Nu\u00f1ez at shortstop will help them win more games in 2026. They believe he has value on a future roster. He\u2019s also been below replacement level in fWAR since early July, so I wonder if some days off would serve him well. With Jackson Kent\u2019s promotion and Luis Perales pitching out of the bullpen recently, Triple-A Rochester is basically only throwing bullpen games at this point. Though they\u2019ve made strides, that is not the best sign of org health. Maybe one of the new acquisitions (Jack Cebert, Josh Hartle) could come up soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This season could get a whole lot weirder down the stretch. 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\nKeibert Ruiz\u2019s discipline to stop swinging in three-ball counts. Since June 28, he has the same number of walks (nine) as strikeouts (nine).
\nMcNeese State\u2019s pitching department. The small Louisiana school has four pitchers in the big leagues this year, including Dion, the Nats\u2019 new standout lefty.
\nYoung\u2019s batted ball profile. He tapped into his athleticism to add bat speed. More than that, he\u2019s learned to stop hitting grounders \u2014 the best year-over-year<\/a> improvement in that facet in MLB this season.
\nThree random things make me skeptical of the future<\/p>\n