Playing GM: 5 Moves to Complete the Washington Nationals Roster for 2026

Each year on the Just Baseball Show, Peter Appel, Aram Leighton, and Jack McMullen put out a series of videos that has them “Play GM” for every single team in Major League Baseball. This is typically one of the can’t miss offseason series we have around here, and I’m excited to announce that we’re kicking off this year’s iteration with a banger.

We’ve already covered the New York Mets and how Peter and our editor-in-chief, Ryan Finkelstein, would go about fixing their team this winter. After missing out on reunions with both Pete Alonso and Edwin Diaz, we’re thinking multiple high-end trades and three free-agent additions will go a long way to fielding a competitive unit once again in 2026. For more on the Mets’ Playing GM, click here for the article.

In the second part of the video, the Washington Nationals took center stage. It was widely expected that the Nationals would at least take somewhat of a step forward in their latest multi-year rebuild in 2025. After limping to the finish line with a 66-96 record, it’s safe to say things didn’t quite go as planned.

Let’s dive into the best way to piece together a successful offseason for the Nats should go.

1. Trade MacKenzie Gore to the Giants

For over a year now, MacKenzie Gore has been the Nationals’ most obvious trade chip. The left-hander currently carries sky-high trade value, and it’s extremely unlikely the Nationals make it to Opening Day 2026 with him still penciled in atop their rotation.

Gore, 27 by the time Opening Day comes around, is a former can’t-miss prospect who’s only just starting to capitalize on some of that potential at the MLB level. The four-year veteran took a significant step forward in 2025, riding a 3.02 first-half ERA to the first All-Star Game of his career. During that time, he struck out over 11 batters per nine innings (30% K-rate).

Of course, he wore down a bit as the year rolled on, missing time with shoulder and ankle injuries, but the concern level should be low as he returned in late-September without any drop in velocity. Even though the results trailed off in the second-half of 2025, Gore looked like a legitimate top-of-the-rotation arm through his first 19 starts of the season. Teams who excel at pitching development should be salivating.

Multiple teams around the league are ideal fits and have already kicked the tires on acquiring him, including the Baltimore Orioles, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, and Kansas City Royals.

This in mind, we’re pivoting to a team outside of this group: the San Francisco Giants.

As first relayed by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Shayna Rubin, the Giants aren’t turning away trade interest in top prospect Bryce Eldridge. This nugget alone is the more than enough to get our gears turning. What if the Nationals and Giants go need-for-need and pull off a one-for-one swap that leaves both parties happy?

The Giants are unwilling to spend a ton of money to upgrade their starting rotation this winter, instead preferring “modestly priced arms“, as reported by ESPN’s Buster Olney. Gore is only predicted to earn $4.7 million in arbitration (per MLBTR’s arb projections) and would come much cheaper than any of the top arms remaining on the open market.

Eldridge, 21, had a 10-game MLB cameo for the Giants down the stretch in 2025, but he went 3-for-28 (.107 AVG) and looked largely overmatched. Again, the concern level should be low, as he hit 25 home runs with 84 RBI and an .843 OPS across three minor league levels before he was promoted. There’s a reason this guy is currently Just Baseball’s No. 23 prospect in all of baseball.

The Giants having Rafael Devers on-hand as a potential long-term first baseman makes the thought of moving someone like Eldridge, who’s very much defensively limited to first base himself, a bit easier. There’s a need for this club in the starting rotation, and they’ve got Eldridge’s replacement already on the roster in the form of an established superstar-caliber player.

Should the Giants and Nationals line up on this deal, there’s a significant need being addressed on both sides. The Giants get their controllable starter with top-of-the-rotation potential, and the Nationals get a controllable first baseman with pop that would slot right into the middle of their order for years to come.

2. Trade CJ Abrams to the Pirates

Another trade! The Nationals have taken a step back in their rebuild, and it’s now unclear whether or not CJ Abrams will still be around by the time they return to contention. Since the answer appears on the surface to be “no,” Abrams should be on the trade block.

Abrams, a four-year veteran, is just one year removed from being an All-Star and had what was in many ways a career-best year at the plate in 2025. He doesn’t bring any value whatsoever defensively at shortstop, but he hit 19 home runs, drove in 65, went 31-for-34 in stolen base attempts, and had a .748 OPS across 144 games this past season.

That’s not too shabby from a modern shortstop, but it’s also important to note here that we’re not dealing with an MVP candidate. At his core, Abrams is a solid player who will make a few All-Star Games and be in the top-10 at his position, and it’s important to note than when trying to determine where he could be traded and for how much.

Similarly to Gore, the interest has already been coming in on the 25-year-old shortstop. This, paired with the Pittsburgh Pirates’ reported interest in adding legitimate pieces to their 2026 roster, makes me feel like there’s a trade to be assembled here.

The deal we’ve put together sees Abrams, who’s under team control through the 2028 campaign, heading to the Pirates for a four-player package.

Since Nick Gonzales was worth 2 Outs Above Average at shortstop this past year, it might make sense for the Pirates to acquire Abrams primarily for his bat and switch him over to second base.

26-year-old starting pitcher Mike Burrows is one of the pieces heading to the Nationals. The right-hander debuted in 2024 with a single three-inning relief outing, but took on a much larger role for the Pirates in 2025. In 23 games (19 of them being starts), Burrows posted a 3.94 ERA and 4.00 FIP (109 ERA+) in 96 innings of work. With the Pirates reportedly listening on other starting pitchers, he feels like one that’s more moveable than the others since he’s not a Cy Young candidate and isn’t on an expensive contract.

Then there’s left-hander Hunter Barco, who made the first two appearances of his MLB career in 2025. While he only got the two looks as a reliever in the big leagues, he came up through the Pirates’ system as a starting pitcher and is clearly a long-term starter. In the minors this past year, he made 23 starts (and four relief outings) and posted a 2.81 ERA with 10.5 K/9 alongside 4.4 BB/9 and 0.5 HR/9.

In under-the-radar fashion, the Pirates had a minor league reliever make 40 appearances across four MiLB levels and post an ERA under 1.00 while striking out over 10 batters per nine, not allowing a single home run all year long, and surrendering just 22 hits in 61 innings of work. 24-year-old Brandan Bidois out of Brisbane, Australia was utterly dominant and would give the Nationals an immediate weapon to slot into either their Triple-A or big league bullpen. He’d be a part of this package for sure.

Finally, we’re reuniting Paul Toboni, the Nationals’ new president of baseball operations, with a former prospect of his when he was working with the Boston Red Sox: infielder Nick Yorke. The 23-year-old has 33 MLB appearances across the past two years for the Pirates and has hit three home runs with 13 RBI, a .612 OPS and a 68 wRC+.

Those numbers don’t tell the full story of who Yorke is as a player, as his yearly wRC+ in the minor leagues dating back to 2021 has looked like this: 144, 81, 114, 127, 104. Yorke’s got double-digit home run potential in his bat, can steal bases, and has turned himself into a super-utility player as he’s progressed through his pro career. While he’s not much of a shortstop, he’d represent a Swiss-army-knife type of player for the Nationals.

While we’re closing in on a year since Just Baseball’s last Pirates prospects update, it’s worth mentioning that three of the four players the Nationals would be acquiring in this deal cracked our top-10 in January of 2025.

3. Sign Marcell Ozuna as the Club’s New DH

After finishing 24th in home runs this past season, it’s clear the Nationals need some thump in their lineup moving forward. Since they’re not going to be players for long-term free agents anytime soon, perhaps eyeing players who can be had on single-year pacts is the way to go.

That brings us to Marcell Ozuna, who’s wrapping up a six-year stint in the NL East on the Atlanta Braves. He led the NL in home runs and RBI in the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign and made the All-Star Game in 2024. The Braves got two years of 39+ home runs and Ozuna’s OPS was north of .900 three times in that stretch.

Now, he’s on the open market, and he’s got “Nationals” written all over him.

To date, the rumor mill surrounding Ozuna has been quiet, but that’s because he finds himself in a lower tier than the Bo Bichettes, Kyle Tuckers, and Cody Bellingers of the world. Even still, he’s an obvious candidate for a one-year contract, and the Nationals could use some power in their lineup.

It feels like a deal with Ozuna would work out for the Nationals regardless of how he performs. If he shows up and continues to hit dingers like he has for years now, he’s a perfect flip candidate at the deadline for contenders looking for power.

If he doesn’t hit, he’s a low-cost slugger who will at the very least be a strong mentor for some of the Nationals’ budding young hitters like James Wood, Daylen Lile, and Dylan Crews. It’s a win-win.

4. Sign Jordan Montgomery

In the spirit of going “warm body” mode and bringing in anybody with a pulse to fill out the Nationals’ 2026 starting rotation, we’re going with Jordan Montgomery. The left-hander will join the Nationals to fill the void the MacKenzie Gore trade left in the rotation, and he’ll give them a respected innings eater who, when healthy, can be a rock-solid starter.

Montgomery’s best years in the rearview mirror; of that there is little doubt. However, he’s not that far removed from turning in a 3.20 ERA across a full 32-start season in 2023. 2024 was a bad one for him, and he missed all of this past year due to injuries, but he’s healthy and could give the Nationals some much needed experience in their rotation.

Once Gore gets moved, the Nationals move to the top (bottom, really) of the list in terms of MLB’s worst starting rotation. Cade Cavalli has potential, but rounding out a starting-five with Brad Lord, Josiah Gray, and Foster Griffin (who just signed with the Nationals a few days ago) leaves a whole lot to be desired.

Adding Montgomery alone is not going to do much to help the Nationals avoid having a horrible rotation, but he’s another one-year deal candidate that could easily be flipped at the deadline if he performs well in the first half. He’s got a lengthy track record and if you’re able to look past the dud of a season he turned in in 2024, there could be something here.

If anything, he addresses the whole “warm body” thing we’re going for.

5. Sign Kirby Yates

If the season started right now, the Nationals’ bullpen would be made up of pitchers that combined to earn four saves in the 2025 season. Clayton Beeter, the team’s closer per FanGraphs’ RosterResource, provided one of them. Cole Henry (two) and PJ Poulin (one) also contributed.

Clearly, that leaves quite a bit of room to add another arm. Beeter only just recently made the transition to full-time reliever and he’s got four saves as a professional under his belt. Even if the Nationals aren’t necessarily planning on earning a bunch of save opportunities in 2026, the need is there for at least somebody with experience to come in and help out the cause.

At this point in his career, David Robertson is looking to sign with a contender. Kenley Jansen, who already signed with the Detroit Tigers, is clearly thinking the same thing. Where can we find an experienced closer who’s got a lengthy track record of success and a World Series ring?

How about Kirby Yates?

Yates, 39 by the time Opening Day rolls around, is a two-time All-Star who at one point led the NL in saves (2019) and just earned a ring thanks to his contributions to the 2025 Los Angeles Dodgers.

He is an 11-year veteran who has 98 career saves and has posted an excellent 2.62 ERA (156 ERA+) dating back to 2018 when he first began to experience sustained success at the game’s highest level. He’s already scratched a ton of MLB bucket list items off over the course of his career, so why not head to the Nationals where he could serve as something of a player-coach?

The team’s current projected ‘pen is just about as inexperienced as they come. Adding someone like Yates, who can provide a solid and stable presence at the tail end of it all, would be extremely valuable. Again, we’re comfortable acknowledging that he’d earn maybe 20 saves while spending the year as the Nationals’ closer, but he’d be a welcomed presence on this team, and he wouldn’t break the bank either.