The 2027 Nats’ starting rotation is where the $$$$$$$$$ need to be spent!

Remember those days when Washington Nationals fans were spoiled in 2015 with a rotation of Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, and Gio Gonzalez? That was the ❝Where’s my ring?!?❞ team. The 2015 rotation was so good that Tanner Roark got moved to the bullpen for Doug Fister who was named the 5ᵗʰ starter on that team. Even that 2019 World Series team had an incredible starting rotation. We yearn for those days.

Before the Dodgers started pumping big money into their payroll, it was the Washington Nationals who had the first $100 million a year starting rotation. Guess what, it is time to start pumping money back into the starting rotation. The good news is the current rotation is young with inexpensive starters. But they need a couple of veteran starters who can solidify the front of a rotation. Right now this group doesn’t need 5-guys making an average of $20 million each, but it’s time to start spending on starting pitchers.

With the uncertainty of the next CBA and opening up free agency, the Washington Nationals can only formulate plans in theory. The hope is ownership gives their President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, enough budget — along with a greenlight, to acquire two very solid starting pitchers in free agency. Sure, everyone would love one of those names to be Tarik Skubal. Maybe going back to Foster Griffin will be viable. Somewhere, somehow, ownership needs to step up and open the wallet — and Toboni has to execute.

If ownership spends — and Toboni acquires the right pieces, you can see this team as a contender. Bring the offense back together, and with the improvements we talked about yesterday in the bullpen — this could be a team on the rise. We saw this year when the team was 4.0 games over .500 as to how good they could be.

The Nats used to be built on great starting rotations like we saw for a decade until the 2021 trade deadline. With the recent surge from Cade Cavalli as the team’s ace, the Nats could be headed back to the good times of great starting pitchers. Do you think Andrew Alvarez is now looking like a Gio? He just pushed his ERA down to 3.47. By the way, Sandy Alcantara‘s ERA is 3.54.

As poorly as the Nats 2026 starting rotation performed with Zack Littell and Miles Mikolas, the Nats starter’s ERA stands this morning at 4.40 overall. There are 10 teams worse than the Nationals today, and two of those teams could be playoff bound: Astros and White Sox. Speaking of money, the Mets starting rotation is fractionally worse than the Nationals in terms of ERA and walks. That’s why you need to spend your money wisely.

Who would be a lock for the 2027 Nats’ starting rotation? Given health issues for a few pitchers, the current list is small:

Cade Cavalli 3.12 ERA
TBD
TBD
Andrew Alvarez 3.47 ERA
TBD

We will hopefully get a good look at Jackson Kent tonight in Los Angeles. He has added that new sinker to his repertoire and is tunneling better, but as some would say, he’s not facing the Miami Marlins this time. What if ~~Jake Bennett~~ Luis Perales makes it or DJ Herz or Connelly Early for next season?

Looking at the minor league system, Travis Sykora looks like the next ace in the system, and the Nats are still pushing Jarlin Susana as a starter in the long-term or is he the Nats answer to Aroldis Chapman? There are some big names in the system even beyond them with the newly acquired Jack Cebert and Josh Hartle from those trade deadline deals. There are others in High-A and Single-A also.

Overall, the Nats have to do a better job of coaching up their pitchers in the system. The pitching lab approach works. Everything is about continual improvement. Each pitcher must possess at least one ‘putaway’ pitch in their arsenal, and have the confidence to attack hitters.

“We’re attacking hitters at a decent rate. I think where we were really struggling was putting hitters away. Just because that was a fact, doesn’t mean that we can’t attack hitters at an even higher rate. … I think the next step is, hopefully, to put hitters away at a higher clip, and our hope is that happens over time.”
— Toboni said back in April

Again, it usually comes down to having good players. The 2026 Nats starting rotation didn’t have enough of those. There were the days when Littell and Mikolas were good players. They just did not have ‘it’ anymore. That is why Toboni has to pick the right players in free agency. He did that with Griffin in the last offseason. He has to do that again, and with more consistency.

Is it too cliché to say, “the time is now?” It sure feels that way for 2027. And it really is put-up or shut-up time for ownership. Time to increase payroll significantly. Ownership saw, like we all saw, that this team was close. What they accomplished with this lineup was truly incredible. It is now much easier to envision what this team can look like with a competent bullpen, and a starting rotation that can give you a chance every day to win.