After POBO Paul Toboni made clear that starting pitching was a focus after dealing MacKenzie Gore, there might be an available fit to upgrade the rotation.
The Washington Nationals starting rotation lacks its top ace with the MacKenzie Gore saga officially coming to an end last week, though president of baseball operations Paul Toboni made clear in a radio interview the following day that the front office will look outside of the organization to bolster the room. Over one week later, those plans have yet to materialize with the free agent market only thinning out with pitchers and catchers set to report for spring training next Wednesday, February 11.
While Cade Cavalli, one of six players who avoided arbitration ahead of the deadline, likely enters next month as the Opening Day starter as the roster currently stands, there are options still available who could be realistic even for the Lerner family. Sure, Max Scherzer is among those starters still looking for a home in 2026, but a reunion has been consistently viewed as unlikely with the 42 year old possibly looking for a contender within his market. While future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander is also among the available free agents with the Baltimore Orioles reportedly interested in late January, there's another who could fit the Nationals' profile a bit better.
Zack Littell remains in search of a new home after splitting time with a pair of teams in 2025. The 31 year old could add to the middle of the rotation alongside Foster Griffin with Brad Lord, Jake Irvin and Josiah Gray, though he was speculated to the Nationals at one point.
Fast forward nearly three months, Littell remains a fit to an answer - and still available, though one outlet projected him to land with the Athletics. With the continued expectation that a short-term deal will materialize ahead of 2026, the Nationals could be incentivized for the right pice. Talk Nats wrote on X on Monday that the team remains "engaged with two agents on MLB free agent pitchers," news that comes over one week after Toboni pointed to the rotation as an area of focus ahead of Opening Day.
“I think there’s a chance we could sign a player here in the next week or two, but we’ll see kind of how the market evolves for these players and we’ll go from there,” Toboni said during his radio appearance.
Littell is also coming off 22 appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays to open 2025, posting a WAR of 2.4 and an 8-8 record with a 3.58 ERA and tossing 89 strikeouts. Tampa Bay traded the veteran, whose 26 home runs led the league at the time, ahead of August to the Cincinnati Reds where he went on to post 41 strikeouts against a 4.39 ERA in ten games. Across his eight seasons in his career, Littell has thrown just shy of 500 strikeouts to 135 walks and a 3.88 ERA.
But maybe the bigger question is whether an outside move truly will materialize. Toboni and the front office were active on both the waiver wire and minor league deals through January, including a pair of DFA's for players claimed just days prior. While it marks the intent to focus on building Triple-A and restocking the minor league system after an offseason filled of doing exactly that, what moves the front office makes to directly impact 2026 remains to be seen as manager Blake Butera looks to build from the 66-win season in 2025.