Nationals Have Seen a Core Four Established As Building Block for Future

Do the Washington Nationals have a core four establishing?

May 30, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Detailed view of the jersey of Washington Nationals outfielder James Wood (29) against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

After a great month of May, the Washington Nationals are trying to get to the elusive .500 mark and prove that this franchise is heading in the right direction.

There have been a lot of losses over the last several seasons for the Nationals, who have experienced a long rebuild.

After winning the World Series in 2019, Washington has seen some notable stars come and go.
Now, they have been trying to develop a new young core of talent to help get them back to being a contender in the National League East.

Unfortunately for the Nationals, they play in one of the most challenging divisions in baseball, but there has been an improvement in the win column so far this year.

Even though the franchise might have been hoping for a little bit more, there have been a few players who have firmly established themselves as building blocks going forward.

Who Is in Washington Nationals New Core?

Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote a core four being established for Washington.

“James Wood. CJ Abrams. MacKenzie Gore. Jake Irvin. Those look like four pillars the Nationals can build around, with hopes that Dylan Crews joins that quartet soon.”

Through two months of the campaign, the Nationals have seen a few of their young players really emerge has the pillars of what they hope will be a good team for years to come.

In the lineup, CJ Abrams was an All-Star last season but had a poor second half with some off-the-field issues. That appears to be a thing of the past, and the young shortstop has performed like an All-Star again so far.

Furthermore, the emergence of James Wood might be the biggest bright spot for the team since the 22-year-old looks like a superstar in the making.

In the rotation, there was some concern about who could potentially emerge as a front-end caliber pitcher for this group heading into the season, but fortunately, both MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin look up to the challenge.

Despite both being very different pitchers, they have each been able to have success.

As Washington looks to try and end this rebuild, it is nice to see that a couple of building blocks have emerged.

The front office and ownership will eventually have to spend some money to help support the young group and take them to the next level. But they at least have a few cornerstones right now.