Paul Toboni Hints at Who Nationals Will Have in Starting Rotation Next Season

These three just might be penciled into the Washington Nationals' starting rotation already.

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

Upgrades will need to be made by the Washington Nationals before the start of next season.

Following a 2026 campaign where this young group exceeded preseason expectations, everyone is ready for this franchise to take a step forward when it comes to getting out of this rebuilding phase. But to do that, they have to increase the talent on this roster. And that will start with forming a competent pitching staff, as both the starting rotation and bullpen has left much to be desired the past handful of years.

When looking at the starting five, it sounds like president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has penciled three guys into those roles, with the rest being up for grabs ahead of Opening Day.

Cavalli, Early, Alvarez the Three Starting Pitchers Right Now

Washington Nationals pitcher Cade Cavalli | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"Cade we obviously believe in, and I think he's earned a spot," Toboni said, per MLB.com. "I think [Andrew Alvarez] has thrown great, and he's put himself in a position where he's going to be throwing, hopefully, a bunch of high-quality innings for us next year. We're very optimistic about Connelly [Early] and what he's shown. Beyond that, we're going to be pretty open-minded."

Well, that is pretty straightforward about how Toboni and the Nationals view things right now.

Unsurprisingly, they have Cade Cavalli written in pen to lead this rotation. The former first-round pick proved that he's a bonafide ace in the majors this past season when he finished with 200 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA over his 32 starts. That include a ridiculous stretch of 15 games where he posted an ERA of 2.08 to earn himself a nice contract extension.

Then there's Connelly Early, one of the high-profile acquisitions during the middle of the campaign. While Washington fans weren't able to see much of the left-hander due to injury issues he dealt with before and after he was acquired, he has been excellent during his short MLB career. And because Toboni has familiarity with Early due to their time together with the Boston Red Sox, it shouldn't shock anyone that he's penciled into the starting rotation barring health.

As for Andrew Alvarez, it's great to hear that he's being listed as one of the three starting pitchers. Despite his lack of top-end prospect pedigree, the lefty has been sensational in the bigs with a career 3.24 ERA across 30 appearances (20 starts). While some regression could eventually come, there's no doubt that he has earned a place in the rotation after what he's done to date.

How the rest of that unit gets filled out will be interesting to see. Veteran Jake Irvin will be in the mix, but he doesn't definitively have a spot after he had north of a 5.00 ERA once again. DJ Herz is back following a lengthy absence from Tommy John surgery. Riley Cornelio and Brad Lord could throw their hats into the mix. And some others from the Triple-A ranks could compete for a spot, too. However, this is where the Nationals need to get aggressive in free agency if they want to start moving forward as a franchise.

With three starters already penciled into the rotation in the early stages of the offseason, it's time for Washington to be assertive when it comes to external options to fill out the other two spots.