We can wax poetic and use verbose words about what could have been if X, Y, or Z happened. It’s sports. There are few guarantees. Yes, June 16ᵗʰ was a day to savor when the Washington Nationals looked like a playoff team at 4-games above .500 and the 6ᵗʰ best record in the NL. Contrast that with June 16ᵗʰ of 2019 when the Nats had the 5ᵗʰ worst record in the NL and were 5-games under .500. You just never know.

There are lessons in sports about continual improvement. Everyone was feeling great after that June 16ᵗʰ win. The next two game, the Nats dropped both with Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas taking the losses then two days later it was a blown-save-loss for the trifecta. We asked back on May 18ᵗʰ if the Nats were not making changes because “if it ain’t broke — don’t try to fix it.” That attitude might have sunk the 2026 Nats. Or is all of this bad baseball a blessing in disguise? Who knows.

Go to mid-May when President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, admitted that when the team record was 23-24 that they could have been 5-games better. ❝We could be 4-or-5 games above .500 right now,❞ Toboni said in mid-May.

Eventually, the Nats got well above .500 even with all of those devastating losses with blown leads late in games. We got a taste of winning baseball — and it felt good.

Look, there were no ‘sure thing’ fixes in mid-June. The glimpse into the future exposed the weak links. This sprint to the finish is a try-out of sorts. Yovanny Cruz showed he is far from ready. Jackson Kent has to prove he is the guy. And Cade Cavalli has stepped up as a bona fide ace.

These days it should feel more like a try-out for next year — and it kind of is for the pitching staff with Kent, Will Dion, and Luis Perales up. But it doesn’t feel that way with the position players. We know what the Nats have with Jorbit Vivas, Nasim Nunez, and Jose Tena. They’ve each been given at least 100 games this season. We have no idea what Trey Lipscomb (2.0 version), Seaver King, or Phillip Glasser can do — because none of them have been given a chance.

This should be that time in this sprint to the finish, and nearly a zero percent chance of a winning season, that the Nats should be giving other players opportunities. Yes, Andrew Pinckney is up, but he barely plays these days because the outfield is set. That’s the problem for Yohandy Morales as Abimelec Ortiz and Andres Chaparro are blocking him. That happens. But Glasser, King, and Lipscomb shouldn’t be blocked by those other players, yet they are.

If you are playing for the future now, then we should look at players who are the future. That is Toboni’s call. Rosters expand on Tuesday for September callups.

Photo by Marideth Sandler/Nats.Talk