Nationals Could Have Plenty of Turnover in Their Bullpen Throughout 2026 Season
In this story:
The Washington Nationals have built a stable of bullpen arms competing for final spots on the Opening Day roster this spring.
That is a huge development for this franchise after they finished last year with the worst ERA in the majors as a unit. Entering the offseason, the outlook looked bleak for that group. But despite not adding a big name to the fold, manager Blake Butera and the front office could have some tough decisions to make when they finalize things ahead of the March 26 opener after some savvy pick-ups this winter have performed well during spring training.
Which pitchers ultimately make the Opening Day roster will be notable. However, that doesn't necessarily mean they are going to remain part of the bullpen equation for the entire year if they are struggling to perform.
Paul Toboni Could Turn Over This Bullpen Throughout 2026
President of baseball operations Paul Toboni should get a ton of credit for shoring up this bullpen.
He aggressively attacked the waiver wire to add intriguing arms to the mix, and that has given Washington plenty of options to choose from.
But the mentality of constantly looking to improve is something that likely won't change even when the season gets underway. And that's why Sam Sallick of Federal Baseball believes there could be tons of turnover throughout the campaign.
"There is going to be a lot of churn in the Nats bullpen this year. It is part of Paul Toboni's philosophy. We already got a taste of that with all the waiver claims this offseason. These waiver claims will continue into the season. If guys aren't producing, they will be demoted or DFA'd, and replaced by pitchers the front office finds more interesting. The mixing and matching will continue until they find the right combination," he wrote.
Nationals Need to Find Long-Term Answers in Their Bullpen
It would not be surprising if that hypothesis from Sallick comes true. Toboni has his way of doing things when it comes to upgrading talent within the organization, and it doesn't seem like he's going to alter that approach even when the 2026 season is taking place.
However, with this year being an extended evaluation period, the Nationals should not sacrifice short-term upgrades for potential long-term pieces of this franchise. While that might be frustrating for some fans when certain pitchers continue to struggle, helping young players with high ceilings develop to reach their potential is a key part of this rebuild.
Still, this regime is going to make their own evaluations on players. That was evident by them designating former top prospect Andry Lara for assignment and opening him up to the possibility of a waiver claim before he returned to Washington and was outrighted to Triple-A Rochester.
With that in mind, who is part of the expected roster churn will be interesting to monitor after the Nationals did a good job of upgrading their bullpen this winter.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai