LAS VEGAS — How much time has Paul Toboni had to evaluate the Washington Nationals’ roster? Not much. What can he say to other executives, whom he will call about potential hires and who will call him back to ask about available players? Nothing in full — not quite yet. Not until more of Washington’s coaching staff and front office is set.
LAS VEGAS — How much time has Paul Toboni had to evaluate the Washington Nationals’ roster? Not much. What can he say to other executives, whom he will call about potential hires and who will call him back to ask about available players? Nothing in full — not quite yet. Not until more of Washington’s coaching staff and front office is set.
But when the time comes to talk that sort of shop, the Nationals will be interested in adding starting pitching, Toboni said Tuesday at MLB’s general managers meetings. He also said they will be “open to what comes our way” at first base and catcher.
“We’re not going to pigeonhole ourselves just into those positions,” Toboni said. “We’ll be open-minded and try and be creative through it all.”
While specifics were hard to come by, there were bread crumbs. Given the factors at hand — contenders pay a lot for unimpeachable aces, those same aces rarely choose 66-win teams, and there is no indication whether the Nationals’ payroll will increase or decrease — you can figure it would take a lot to get a frontline starter in Washington.
“Ideally we’re going after the pitcher that has incredible stuff, executes incredibly well and is a great strike thrower,” Toboni said. “Bottom line is, those guys are either never traded or they’re signing for a lot of money as free agents.”
Who joins the staff, then, probably comes down to whom the Nationals believe they can develop. Washington tapped Simon Mathews as its pitching coach Tuesday and Blake Butera as its manager late last month. Members of the club’s front office and its coaching staff will need to discuss which profiles and traits they are best equipped to maximize. A veteran leader also could be welcome.
“There’s a huge piece of it, like, ‘Hey, we’re trying to create a culture that will really develop a foundation, especially our younger group going forward,’” Toboni said. “We want folks that are not just going to tolerate the culture but rather drive it and be leaders in the building.”
Toboni felt it would be reckless to identify exactly how many major-league-ready starters the Nationals would like to have by the end of the offseason, but “as many as possible” is the ideal. When asked what sort of profiles the Nationals will be targeting, he said they will keep an open mind.
There should be plenty of open spots in a rotation that feels far from set outside of Cade Cavalli. MacKenzie Gore is one of the hotter commodities on the trade market. Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin had the highest ERAs among qualified major league starters in 2025, and in Irvin’s case, the Nationals will have to decide whether they want to pay his arbitration figure (which projects to land around $3.3 million, per MLB Trade Rumors).
Then there is Brad Lord, who pitched better out of the bullpen than he did as a starter. There is Andrew Alvarez, who is still quite green. Trevor Williams, who underwent an internal brace procedure on his elbow in July, will start throwing off a mound in mid-February, which doesn’t guarantee he will be ready by Opening Day. DJ Herz, who had Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure in April, started his throwing program about a week ago, so he seems like an even longer shot to crack the initial 26-man roster.
In fact, it is probably Josiah Gray, who underwent Tommy John surgery and an internal brace procedure in July 2024, whose spot in the rotation is most secure. The 2023 all-star will follow a normal offseason plan, and the team anticipates Gray will be full-go in spring training.
“Missing bats is good, so we want to miss bats,” Toboni said when asked about the organization’s recent inability to do so (and how that might change). “I think it starts with doing a really good job staffing out with folks that can create the structure for our pitching staff to miss bats, put the process in place to do so — and then create a culture not solely around that but where that’s going to be a big piece of it.”
Elsewhere, Pete Alonso and Josh Naylor are expected to command the largest deals for first basemen. Perhaps a more realistic candidate for Washington would come in the middle of the market or elsewhere on the trading block. Although the Nationals had Luis García Jr. practice (and briefly play) at first base last year, Toboni can’t get into the weeds of position changes until he has hired a full staff.
Washington does not have much minor league depth at first base, though Yohandy Morales and Sam Brown showed promise for stretches in 2025.
The same can be said for the Nationals at catcher. Toboni spoke highly of Keibert Ruiz but did not specify whether he would like a backup catcher or someone who splits time more evenly with Ruiz. The 27-year-old is signed through 2030 with club options through 2032, but he also has the lowest WAR of any major leaguer with at least 1,000 plate appearances since 2023.
After he suffered multiple concussions last season, the Nationals said Ruiz is following the offseason program with no issues and is anticipated to be full-go in spring training. Riley Adams and Drew Millas have been Ruiz’s primary backups in recent years.
The GM meetings can be an exercise in talking around specifics, no more so than for an executive who hasn’t even had time to fully unpack those specifics with his co-workers. (Or, for that matter, hire his co-workers.) Last year, for instance, the Nationals wanted to add power. This year, Toboni said, they think hitters can come in any shape or size, be it excellence in plate discipline, power, handedness or contact skills. Though left unsaid by Toboni, the Nationals also have depth in the outfield, if they opted to trade.
The breadth of the free agent market at each position is not yet defined, with trade candidates still unknown. Of the free agents available, FanGraphs identified 34 starters who are projected to be worth at least 1 WAR. Five primary first basemen and three primary catchers fit that criteria.
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