Pitchers and catchers report for spring training this week, and the Washington Nationals have plenty of new players who will try to impress new manager Blake Butera and earn key roles on the 2026 roster. Fans will have favorites like James Wood, CJ Abrams, Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews, Cade Cavalli, Jake Irvin and Luis Garcia to cheer for, but will need to learn a lot of new names, thanks to President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni’s offseason maneuvers.
One of Toboni’s most significant moves was dealing All-Star lefty Mackenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers for five prospects. The most promising of these is third baseman Gavin Fien, the 12th overall pick in the 2025 amateur draft. The Nationals also received right-hander Alejandro Rosario, first baseman Abimelec Ortiz, shortstop Devin Fitz-Gerald and outfielder Yeremy Cabrera in the deal.
Revolving door brings a new catcher
Other notables from last year’s roster who’ll be toiling elsewhere this season: closer Jose A. Ferrer (Mariners), Josh Bell (Twins) and Paul DeJong (Yankees). For Ferrer, the Nats received intriguing catching prospect Harry Ford, a first-round pick in 2021, who batted .283 with 16 home runs in 97 Triple-A games last season, but who had Cal Raleigh blocking his path to the bigs in Seattle. Whether Ford has the defensive skills to be a major-league catcher remains to be seen, but he should be an offensive upgrade at that position for the Nats.
Toboni has signed only one free agent so far, and that move’s a curious one: 30-year-old lefty Foster Griffin, who pitched only eight innings in the majors before moving to Japan, where he was an effective starter for the last three years. The Nationals will be counting on Griffin to replicate that success in their starting rotation, but he’s unproven to say the least.
Rolling the dice
He will be joined by 30-plus other pitchers, a third of whom ultimately will comprise Washington’s starting rotation and relief corps. Toboni is rolling the dice on a number of players with great potential but little proven ability. Given the seemingly never-ending rebuild that has been in progress since 2019, that’s no surprise. Spring training games begin Saturday, Feb. 21; stay tuned as we find out who’ll be part of the Washington squad that visits the Cubs to open the season March 26.
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