Former GM Believes This Will Make Nationals 'Contenders Rather Than Pretenders'

Will the Washington Nationals go down this route?

Washington Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Washington Nationals will be busy this offseason on the baseball operations side of things.

Following a year where Paul Toboni and his front office used the 2026 campaign as a way to evaluate players and prospects throughout the organization, this winter will likely see plenty of changes ushered in across the entirety of the franchise.

Augmenting what's already on the big league roster will be the most important thing for the Nationals. While the team took a step forward this past season, there are clear areas that have to be boosted if they are ever going to get out of this rebuilding phase. Of course, improving the bullpen is one of them. However, former MLB general manager Jim Bowden actually thinks upgrading the other part of the pitching staff is what will benefit Washington the most.

Adding Two Quality Starting Pitchers Deemed Key for Nationals

White Washington Nationals hat on top of a black mitt | USA TODAY Sports

"The other area needing improvement is the rotation, but they have a rotation anchor in Cade Cavalli, who they were able to sign to a long-term contract. Andrew Alvarez and Connelly Early should be solid starters behind Cavalli, but they need to add two more quality starters this offseason if they want to be contenders rather than pretenders," he wrote for The Athletic (subscription required).

Focusing on upgrading the starting staff could help this team out the most.

Cade Cavalli looks like a bonafide ace after what he did in 2026. Andrew Alvarez has proven that he's an effective starter in the bigs, which will allow him to be a solid backend rotation arm. And Connelly Early, if he's healthy, has been a high-end starter during his short career. So finding two other quality pitchers who can fill out this rotation will be huge for the Nationals going forward.

Bowden believes that has to come via outside additions based on what he wrote. However, Washington does have a couple of internal candidates in the mix, too, with the likes of left-hander DJ Herz, veteran right-hander Jake Irvin and even current multi-inning relievers Will Dion, Brad Lord and Riley Cornelio all in a position to compete for a starting spot.

Because of that, it will be interesting to see what Toboni and the other decision makers do this winter. Last year, they opted for the stopgap approach when they signed veterans Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell in free agency. But those additions were largely disastrous ones, and it could impact what the Nationals decide to do this time around.

This free agency class has some high-end arms set to hit the open market, but they are going to cost money to land. Whether or not Washington is willing to pony up for one of them isn't clear right now, but there will be options available if they want to bring in some outside help.