Nationals Among Teams 'Who Have Been Most Aggressive' for Mid-Tier Starters

The Washington Nationals seem to be eyeing some mid-tier starting pitchers.

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The Washington Nationals seem to have their front office in place.

Following Paul Toboni's decision to hire 31-year-old Ani Kilambi to become the team's next general manager, it seems like the remainder of the focus this offseason will come on the player's side of things now that the coaching staff is also finalized.

Other tweaks will likely be made throughout the organization. But the Nationals can now fully focus on roster building after previously landing star catching prospect Harry Ford in a notable trade and signing left-handed pitcher Foster Griffin to a major league contract.

How Washington approaches things is anyone's guess, though. Bullpen is a major need after shipping out Jose A. Ferrer. So is first base. And the starting pitching unit leaves much to be desired, especially if they are able to find a suitor in a MacKenzie Gore blockbuster.

But according to Jeff Passan of ESPN (subscription required), the Nationals are among those aggressively searching for starting pitching options to fill out their rotation.

Nationals Eyeing Mid-Tier Rotation Help This Offseason

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"Depending on prices, truly every team could target this tier. Among those who have been most aggressive in mid-tier pursuit, according to sources: the White Sox, Orioles, Angels, Nationals, Mets, Padres and Diamondbacks," the insider reported.

This is an interesting nugget by Passan. It stands to reason why that would be the case if they are eventually going to trade Gore. Without the star lefty heading up their rotation, that unit has a chance to be the worst in the majors if they don't add more supplemental arms to the group.

But who they might target isn't clear. Signing expensive stopgap solutions doesn't seem like something Toboni and this regime want to do when it comes to this pitching staff. However, if they aren't looking for MLB-ready arms in a potential Gore deal, then 2026 could be a huge experiment.

Multiple Veteran Options Listed in Mid-Tier Category Who Nationals Could Pursue

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Passan threw out plenty of names who fall into that category, listing the likes of Chris Bassitt -- who was previously been seen as a possibility for the Nationals -- to Lucas Giolito to future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander to even a possible reunion with Patrick Corbin.

Nick Martinez and Zack Littell also firmly sit in that category and could provide value, and Tyler Mahle and German Marquez offer high-end upside as innings eaters if they are able to stay healthy. They could even kick the tires on Walker Buehler if they wanted, who struggled with the Boston Red Sox but found a bit of something with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Walker Buehler’s Phillies debut vs the Royals tonight:
5.0 IP | 5 H | 1 ER | 1 BB | 3 K | 90 P 59 S pic.twitter.com/rvjo54PvoE

— Andrew Coté (@acote_88) September 13, 2025

Washington seems like they would prefer to deal Gore at some point this winter. The market is hot for pitching right now, especially once more high-end free agents start coming off the board and teams who missed on their top targets have to pivot to a possible trade.

Once that happens, the Nationals will need to have some backfill options in place. And signing someone from the mid-tier like Passan is suggesting could be their course of action to field a somewhat competent rotation for 2026.