These Five Nationals Players Were Team's Most Valuable in 2025
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Typically when a team loses nearly 100 games, they have a lot of roster deficiencies and not a whole lot of value throughout the team. That wasn't really the case for the Washington Nationals this season, as the roster was pretty top heavy compared to the other poor teams of the season.
The roster as a whole was still towards the bottom of the league, but the Nationals had three players with a bWAR over 3.0, something that only one player achieved on last year's team. However, despite significant improvements from those players, Washington only had five players worth more than 1.0 bWAR by the end of the season.
Players like Daylen Lile and Dylan Crews have a shot to get there next season with more playing time, but now is the time to focus on the best parts of this Nationals roster as they continue on in their rebuild. Here are the five best Washington Nationals by bWAR in 2025.
James Wood, 3.7 bWAR
In Wood's breakout season, he became the Nationals most valuable and best player. The 23-year-old played 157 games, hitting .256 with 31 home runs, 94 RBIs, an .825 OPS and 132 OPS+. Wood led the team in practically every offensive category.
Wood really announced himself on the national stage during the All-Star break. He was voted into his first All-Star game, but crucially competed in the Home Run Derby. He was eliminated in the first round, but he made quite the impression. His 486 foot homer was the second longest since 2019, not counting Coors Field, according to MLB.com. The masses got to see his epic power on full displat.
His name can be found all over the National League leaderboards, too. He was tied for eighth in total bases (284), tied for fourth in doubles (38), 10th in walks (85) and seventh in extra base hits (69). The only real downside to Wood's game is his strikeouts, which he did 221 times, leading all of baseball.
Wood could become even better in the years to come, so expect him to be at or near the top of this list every year.
CJ Abrams, 3.3 bWAR
Abrams was the team's leader in 2024 with 3.4 bWAR and he continues to be the steady hand of the team. He played 144 games, hitting 19 home runs, driving in 60 and stealing 31 bases. He his OPS a solid .748 and he had a 111 OPS+.
Abrams 35 doubles were tied for the seventh most in the NL and his 31 stolen bases were tied for ninth and just seven away from the league leader. Among shortstops, he had the fourth most stolen bases, eighth most runs scored, and was tied for the 11th best slugging percentage (.433).
His bWAR might have been even higher because of his offense, but Abrams is one of the worst defensive shortstops in baseball, so it appears he's capped at around 3.0 bWAR until he either moves positions or becomes an even better hitter.
Either way, Abrams is the 'veteran' of this lineup and one of the leaders of the team. The Nationals have their franchise shortstop, a position that is difficult to fill.
MacKenzie Gore, 3.0 bWAR
There is no doubt that Gore is the ace of this Nationals' staff. It was arguably his best season so far, posting a 4.17 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 159.2 innings. Gore's 185 strikeouts are a new career high, as is his 10.4 K/9 this year.
Gore made his first All-Star team, joining teammate James Wood this season. The left-hander was also able to dramatically improve his WHIP, lowering it to 1.353 from his mark of 1.419 last season. Gore was meaningfully better at limiting runners this season.
The 26-year-old also improved his stuff from the 2024 season. His chase rate was up to 29.9 percent from his 27.3 percent mark, putting him in the 70th percentile. He also bumped his whiff rate up to 29.7 percent this season, according to Baseball Savant.
Gore dealt with some injuries in 2025, but if he can stay healthy and put all of his stuff together like he did, the left-hander could be in for a massive breakout moving forward.
Brad Lord, 1.5 bWAR
Lord is the most interesting player on this list. He was one of four Nationals' pitchers to throw over 100 innings, but he wasn't a starter for the entire season. Of his 48 appearances, 19 of them were starts. With a 4.34 ERA and 108 strikeouts, the right-hander was the team's second best pitcher.
He started six games in April and June before being moved to the bullpen to be used as a multi-inning guy most of the time. Lord gave up at least two runs in five of those six starts. By July 22, he was back in the rotation and started his final 13 games.
The 25-year-old struggled more as a starter than as a reliever, but the Nationals wanted to get him work in the rotation because he has been a starter his entire career. In 19 starts, he threw 92 innings, striking out 73 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.348 WHIP.
Lord's biggest value was his ability to eat innings at a pretty league average rate with a 95 ERA+ over the season. With more work as a starter, he could find himself in the middle or end of the rotation in the next year or two.
Jacob Young, 1.3 bWAR
Young solidified himself as the team's center fielder this season, and most of his bWAR came from his great year as a defender. At the plate, he had a .583 OPS, 68 OPS+, 15 stolen bases and two homers in 120 games. His numbers were down from 2024, but his bat isn't what makes him valuable.
Roaming center field, Young's outs above average, or range, was 14 and in the 98th percentile, meaning he is at the top of the league as a defender. He was seventh in baseball in OAA at any position and sixth in runs prevented, according to Baseball Savant.
Although the bat may not come around, it's hard to argue with putting Young out there everyday because he is going to give the team elite defense day in and day out. As long as he does that, he will be a mainstay.
