Washington Nationals
Blown Save №42 — Nats keep setting new records…
There has been so much said about the Washington Nationals bullpen ineptitude. They set a notorious record for the most blown saves in a season and are still adding to that record. When you see the “Call To The Bullpen” signal, you want to cover your eyes at times. The Nats officially set the all-time Major League Baseball single-season record for blown saves weeks ago, surpassing the unwanted mark and previous record of 37 held by the 2024 Chicago White Sox. Some of the numbers might surprise. Some won’t surprise you at all. Not all blown saves are created equally. The blown save rules are complex, and sometimes not fair. Of the 42 blown saves, there have been 24 games lost of the team’s 83 total losses. That translates to 28.9 percent of the losses have come from blown save games. And yes, the Nats have won 13 games in which they had blown saves. If you think the numbers are off because they don’t add up to 42, that is because there were five games that the team had two blown saves recorded in those games. The Nats have had 80 games with save opportunities. That is a lot of games, and the team isn’t the worst in blown save percentages. They are second to last. But contrast the Nats with a team like the Tampa Bay Rays who have had 75 save opportunities and only have blown 18 games, and not all of those were losses. Of the…
Game #156 Nats are going for the sweep today!
The Washington Nationals have a chance for a sweep today against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Nats also control their own destiny to avoid the cellar in the NL East with an outside chance at 3ʳᵈ place in the division. The Nats have a 2.0 game lead over the Mets, and picked up another game against the Marlins who are 3.0 games ahead of the Nats for 3ʳᵈ place. The Nats are now 6-1 in their last seven games. There are seven more games to play this season. Getting their 73ʳᵈ win last night meant the Nats have improved over 11 percent in year-over-year for wins above the 66 total wins from the 2025 season. Each extra win from here represents progress and also what they could do to improve going into next season. How’s about the outing from Andrew Alvarez last night on the mound. He just got to 142.0 innings between MLB (108.0) and Triple-A (34.0) this year. Last year he pitched 146 innings. What Alvarez has done this year is incredible. He’s pitched to a +2.6 WAR in his partial season with a 3.17 ERA on his MLB statline, and that ranks him 26ᵗʰ in MLB (min. 100 IP). Top-30 is usually considered a bona fide No. 1 pitcher. Since Cade Cavalli is ranked ahead of Alvarez, they form a nice 1-2 punch. Just imagine if Connelly Early can be another top of the rotation star, or the Nats sign a good free agent pitcher. A pitcher…
Postgamer: Nats win a thriller in extras!
The Washington Nationals had to go 11 innings to win this game by a final score of 8-5. Jorbit Vivas was the offensive hero — but he was also the problem as he had an untimely error that cost the Nats two unearned runs earlier in the game. If not for that, the Nats win 3-1 without the need for extra innings. In this game, Vivas had four hits with an RBI and a run scored. There were other big hits with the early 2-run homer from Daylen Lile, and the 2-run hustle double by Jose Tena in the 11th inning. In that 11th inning, the Nationals scored four runs. They had bases loaded with no outs when Jacob Young was looking at a 2-2 count on a swing, and he immediately signaled that the catcher interfered with his swing. The Nats challenged and won. That scored the first of the four runs in that inning. Tena knocked in two, and Dylan Crews was robbed by a Cardinals outfielder who made a diving catch in the gap. Has anyone hit into more bad luck than Crews? “A lot of tough decisions tonight. … Lovelady had some unluck. … A lot to unpack tonight in that game. We have to clean up the defense. We’re lucky we won with four errors. But I think that was a one-off.” — manager Blake Butera said Defense was a problem for the Nats with four errors in this game — but defense was also…
Game #155 Nats will try to clinch the series tonight!
The Washington Nationals have a chance to avoid the cellar in the NL East with an outside chance at 3ʳᵈ place in the division. The Nats have a 2.0 game lead over the Mets, and are 4.0 games behind the Marlins for 3ʳᵈ place. The Nats are now 5-1 in their last six games. There are eight more games to play this season. Since the World Series season of 2019, the Nationals had not won more than 71 games in a season until they notched their 72 nd win last night. With 8-games remaining in this 2026 season, the Nats need to get one more win to get to 73 wins and avoid 90 losses. Getting that 73ʳᵈ win would also be an increase of over 10 percent in year-over-year improvement of wins above the 66 wins from the 2025 season. The Washington Nationals have Andrew Alvarez on the mound tonight. He just got to 136.0 innings between MLB (102.0) and Triple-A (34.0) this year. Last year he pitched 146 innings. What Alvarez has done this year is incredible. He’s pitched to a 3.35 ERA on his MLB statline, and that ranks him 30ᵗʰ in MLB (min. 100 IP). Top-30 is usually considered a bona fide No. 1 pitcher. Since Cade Cavalli is ranked ahead of Alvarez, they form a nice 1-2 punch. ❝I usually don’t talk to [Cavalli] when he pitches. The last thing I want to do is change anything to his routine that he’s had so much…
Toboni’s ‘scouting and player development monster’ was just part of his goals!
A Big Hairy Audacious Goal (BHAG) is a clear, long-term, and fiercely ambitious target designed to unite an organization and stimulate massive progress. The term was coined by authors Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. While a typical strategic plan looks near-term than to 3-to-5 years ahead, a BHAG usually spans much longer. It feels daunting — carrying a high likelihood of failure — yet everyone in the organization believes it is possible. When Paul Toboni was officially hired as the President of Baseball Operations of the Washington Nationals nearly a year ago, he set a high bar as he laid out his goals and dreams. A bar so high that it felt years away. His BHAG was building ❝The Envy of [his] Sport.❞ Bold. Concise. Audacious. And to some, they laughed at it. Tohoni, 35 at that time, had just taken over a failed rebuilding MLB team that had moved backwards in wins, a farm system that was covered in tumbleweeds for most of the rebuild, and a fanbase that was losing hope. A year ago, the farm system was rated 10th from the bottom in baseball, and the Major League team fell backwards as a 66-win team from a 71-win team a year before that. The front office was a mess with a glut of cronies from the past administration, and most of the coaching staff and player development people should have been fired years before. The…
Postgamer: Cavalli signs his new contract, then throws a mini-gem!
First off, the Washington Nationals won their 72 nd game with 8-games remaining in the 2026 season. That win total is the best by a Nats’ team since the 2019 World Series season. Again, the season is not over, and the Nats have already improved their win total by 9.1 percent over last year. And this Nats team did all of this with a payroll that decreased by $17 million from last year. Sure, you could say if they spent a lot of money on a better bullpen who knows. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. The accomplishments are real by most of this squad, and starter Cade Cavalli signed a new contract extension today — and then went out to the mound and pitched 5.0 scoreless against the Cardinals with only four hits, zero walks, and six strikeouts. In fact, the 6 th strikeout was Cavalli’s 200 th of this season. That milestone put Cavalli in rare company in Nats history with some icons of Nats pitching lore: Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, and Gio Gonzalez. With Cavalli’s 5.0 scoreless innings, he also shoved his ERA all the way down to 3.02 on the season. That ERA mark improved Cavalli to 13 th in MLB this season for qualified starting pitchers. That is ace stuff. He will have one more start to finish his 2026 season and that will give Cavalli the opportunity to get that ERA under 2.99 with a great outing next week. “I was watching him pitch and…
Game #154 Cavalli on the mound and now a long-term ace!
The Washington Nationals have their newly extended ace, Cade Cavalli, on the mound to kick-off this weekend series with the Cardinals. Since the World Series season of 2019, the Nationals have not won more than 71 games in a season. Can these Nats surpass that number? That would take one more win to reach that mark. There are 9 games remaining in this 2026 season. To avoid a 90 loss season, the Nats need to get 2-games in the win column to get to 73 wins. Of course the hope is the Nats can play better than.500 baseball in these final 9 games. After this game, there are just 8 games remaining in this season with just two series remaining after the team leaves St. Louis for Detroit. Next weekend is the final showdown with the Mets for what could be a battle for 4ᵗʰ place in the NL East — or if the Marlins fall apart, maybe a battle for 3ʳᵈ place! ❝We have big games ahead of us to finish this season strong for this group of players.❞ — said manager Blake Butera On offense, the Nats have the third most runs scored in MLB this season at 778 runs, and that is an impressive 5.11 runs per game. With the Nats pitching giving up 4.71 earned runs per game, the difference is really those pesky unearned runs due to the errors. Overall, the Nats have a +3 run differential on the season. Here is manager Blake Butera…
Official: Cade Cavalli deal has been officially extended!
The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a four-year contract, including one team option, with right-handed pitcher Cade Cavalli today. The contract begins in 2027 and runs through the 2030 season with an extra year via a team option for the 2031 season. That could keep team control of Cavalli through his age-33 season. This was a deal that had to get completed after news leaked last night that an extension was being discussed. That put pressure on the Lerner ownership group to get signatures on paper. The good news is it got done before the clubhouse opened for the Nationals team that is on the road in St. Louis. Per our sources, the deal will be worth up to $70 million for the 5-years if the team option is picked up for the 2031 season. This is now the largest deal on the Nationals books. Both sides, per our source, tried to negotiate additional years at Cavalli’s request. This is where they finished, and this deal as reported is what both sides could agree on at the time for the 28 year old Cavalli on a deal that could take him through the 2031 season when he will be 33. “It’s not a bad thing to go dream and have high expectations of yourself and hold yourself to a high standard every day. When you stack a good day on top of a good day for a long time, some good things can happen.” “It was more like, ‘Hey…
Source: Nats/Cavalli are in advanced talks for a contract extension!
Source: The Washington Nationals and Cade Cavalli are in advanced talks for a contract extension that would buy-out Cavalli’s three remaining arbitration years as well as free agent year(s). Cavalli is repped by Jay Franklin of BBI. Coincidentally, Franklin got his start as an employee at the Boras Agency before he went out on his own. Cavalli, 28, went from a forgettable debut at the end of August in 2022 with a 7-run disaster, and not only did he pitch poorly — but he also tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow that required TJ surgery. Cavalli would miss all of the 2023 and 2024 seasons and didn’t return to the MLB until nearly three years after the injury. In 2025, Cavalli’s season was a middling 4.25 ERA of a two month sample size. This year, Cavalli was Super-2 eligible for salary arbitration because he was accruing MLB service time while injured and on rehab. He signed a $4 million deal for next year for his second year of arbitration and the 2028 and 2029 years would be his final two years of team control. This season’s second half has seen Cavalli emerge as an ace with a 3.12 ERA overall with 194 strikeouts in 164.2 innings. On June 20, Cavalli was still trying to figure everything out with a new cutter, the new sweeper, and he had a 4.07 ERA at the time. But since that point, Cavalli has mastered the cutter, the sweeper, and changed the…
The Walk-A-Thon x 13
Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Great. The good news in last night’s game is that the Washington Nationals bullpen pitched 8⅔ innings of 1-run, 4-hit baseball with seven strikeouts against the Phillies. The bad news is the bullpen had a 9:7 BB/K ratio, and the starter, Jared Simpson, well, he walked four batters and only got one out in his start. In total, there were 13 walks to tie a dubious Nats record. Last night’s loss sealed the deal that the Nationals would in fact have their 7th consecutive losing season. That should not come as a shock. Some in the Nats media were predicting 100+ losses like Spencer Nusbaum and Andrew Golden. With two more wins, the team will avoid 90 losses and far exceed some of the rosiest win total predictions. Me personally, I expected a losing season with vast improvement from last year. That’s why I bet the ‘over’ of 66.5 wins and cashed in as my prediction was 74 wins. There is still that feeling of how you get to these wins and losses needs proper efficiency. You know, the process. You just cannot walk 13 batters in a Major League game. Somehow the Phillies only scored three runs. “Well, I think you guys know the story to tonight’s game – 13 walks. Honestly, we’re fortunate that it was only a 3-0 game when you walk 13 guys. That’s what it comes down to.” “If you are going to walk…
Game #153 Nats go for sweep of Phillies!
The Washington Nationals come into this game on a 4-game winning streak, and all four games were come-from-behind wins. Tonight, the Nats have a chance to sweep the Phillies in this a 2-game series. Of course, in order for the Nats to win they have to get past Zack Wheeler. After this game, there are just 9 games remaining in this season with just three series left. The Nationals have a day-off tomorrow, and will fly to St. Louis for a weekend series. The Nats will start LHP Jared Simpson in a bullpen game tonight. The Nats will give two extra days of rest to Cade Cavalli who will pitch on Friday in St. Louis. Since the World Series season of 2019, the Nationals have not won more than 71 games in a season. Can these Nats surpass that number? That would take one more win to reach that mark. There are 10 games remaining in this 2026 season. To avoid a 90 loss season, the Nats need to get 2-games in the win column to get to 73 wins. Of course the hope is the Nats can play better than.500 baseball in these final 10 games. The remaining schedule includes tonight’s game against the Phillies, then the Nats travel to St. Louis for three games for this weekend. Next week, the Nats travel to Detroit for three games before traveling back home for the final three games against the Mets in a weekend series for what could be a…
Win #71 is big, the next wins are more significant!
Last night, the Washington Nationals notched their 71 st win of this 2026 season with 10 games to go. Those 71 wins are tied for the most by a Nationals team since the 2019 World Series season. Of course the hope is the Nats can keep winning and finish with many more wins. The next win would mark the best season since 2019. Every win going forward in the final 10 games will be significant. The 2025 Washington Nationals only had 66 wins in total. A 10 percent improvement over last year would be 73 wins. If the Nats could somehow win five more games to get to 76 wins, that would be a 15.2 percent improvement over last year. 2026 Washington Nationals are FOURTH in the NL East. Their improvement is irrelevant. — – AB – (@ABinVienna) September 16, 2026 If you think the improvement is irrelevant, you haven’t been paying attention. All progress is significant, especially when you know what you can enhance going into the next season. Take this year’s win improvement and extrapolate that to next year with the same percentages, and if this team could reach 76 wins by the end of this season, then maybe you could get to nearly 88 wins next year with that same 15.2 percent improvement. That’s Wild Card territory. “We’re setting our sights to create a sustained winner here, and I think that that starts with what we’re doing right now. … I know that we’re eliminated [from this…