Nationals Listed Among Six Teams That Could Take Step Forward in 2026
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2025 was supposed to be the year where the Washington Nationals broke through a bit.
After two straight seasons where they won 71 games, the optimism heading into this past campaign was fairly high considering James Wood and Dylan Crews would be with the big league club for the entire year, CJ Abrams was coming off an All-Star selection and MacKenzie Gore had an offseason to work on things further.
Unfortunately, things did not transpire in that fashion, as the Nationals were once again one of the worst teams in baseball when they finished with a 66-96 record. The early struggles resulted in the midseason firings of longtime executive Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez, and it was a clear a new era would be upon the nation's capital when that time came.
It's hard not to be impressed by the new regime that was brought in thus far, and perhaps that's why Will Leitch of MLB.com listed Washington among six teams that could be improved next year.
Youth Movement of Nationals Might Finally Break Through in 2026
"When you haven’t had a winning season since before the pandemic -- even if that 2019 season ended in a World Series title -- it's probably a sign that you need some fresh eyes leading your organization. ... The next step is for those young players to make leaps forward, and there's every reason to think that James Wood, Dylan Crews and even Daylen Lile may be ready to do just that. Nats fans have been waiting for all that youth -- on the field, and now in dugout and the front office -- to translate into on-field success. This may well be that year," wrote Leitch.
That should be music to the ears of Natioanls fans everywhere.
The other five teams that also made Leitch's list were the Athletics, Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles, Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago White Sox, which are either all teams that have tons of up-and-coming talent like Washington does or underperformed compared to expectations in 2025 like the Braves and Orioles did.
BRADY HOUSE AGAIN!
— MLB (@MLB) July 12, 2025
The @Nationals rookie has hit his first two career homers today! pic.twitter.com/C5j2pXZR3m
Taking a step forward in 2026 would be huge for the Nationals and the fanbase. Not only would it be great for the players to see success during this rebuild, but it would also give fans something to look forward to again after things have been frustrating since the World Series championship.
Getting things back on track in the nation's capital is key, and if it does happen during the upcoming season, then there should be a lot of optimism about what this young group, front office and coaching staff can accomplish together going forward.
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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