This winter has the chance to be a long, chaotic one for Major League Baseball teams with significant uncertainty. But since we’re at that point, let’s have some fun and talk about teams’ weaknesses heading into the winter. The Nationals’ offense was among the league’s best in 2026. But the pitching was a sore spot.

Biggest needs

Starting pitchers, plus relief help, are the obvious needs for the Nationals.

Washington has a nice setup for the future, as Cade Cavalli, who had a breakout campaign in 2026, is locked up for the future. Connelly Early has five more years of control, and the Nationals do have some good young pitching prospects, like Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana in the pipeline. However, pitching prospects should never be taken for granted.

It wasn’t easy for the Nationals’ pitching staff this past season. Washington pitchers, overall, finished with the 24th-most strikeouts in the league, the fourth-most home runs allowed (218), and an overall ERA (4.67) that ranked 26th in the league.

As for individual performers, Cavalli was excellent in 2026. But he is just one pitcher. Among starting pitchers with 100+ innings thrown last year, three of the bottom 30 in terms of opponents’ wOBA (Jake Irvin, Zack Littell, Miles Mikolas) were from the Nats. Littell and Mikolas didn’t even finish the year on the big-league roster.

Right now, a top three of Cavalli, Early, plus Andrew Alvarez would make sense. After that, DJ Herz, Jackson Kent, Josiah Gray, and, should Jake Irvin return, would be among potential rotation options. A back-end starter on a short-term deal would make sense here.

Moving to the bullpen, the Nationals need help here, too. Washington relievers conceded a league-high 113 home runs, 16 more than the club behind them (Athletics).

Washington does have some help here internally. The club made it a mission to add bullpen options at the deadline, acquiring multiple relievers from the Yankees, including hard-throwing relievers Yovanny Cruz & Jake Bird, for Luis Garcia Jr., plus Will Dion from the Guardians for Foster Griffin.

Dion, a former starting pitcher prospect in the Cleveland organization, found a home in the Nationals’ bullpen. His fastball has never been the easiest to pick up, which does help set up the secondary stuff. Plus, Dion does have a deeper pitch mix than most relievers.

Between the likes of Clayton Beeter, Riley Cornelio, and Orlando Ribalta, there’s some meat on the bone. Still, someone who can stabilize as a high-leverage reliever would not be a bad option here.

Check out more of our MLB coverage.