Washington Nationals End 2026 Regular Season in Win Column

Year one of the Blake Butera and Paul Toboni era has officially come to an end.

The Washington Nationals have ended the 2026 regular season with a 77-85 overall record, marking the franchise's first season avoiding 90 losses since 2019, excluding the 2020 COVID season that featured just 60 games.

The Nationals also finished fourth in the NL East, ahead of the New York Mets and avoided a last place finish in the division for the second time since 2021.

It marks an encouraging end to year one after the preseason outlook pointed to the Nationals being tabbed among the MLB's worst teams with some arguing they could challenge the Colorado Rockies for the league's worst record.

The season featured plenty of highs, such as the emergence of rookie Foster Griffin en route to an All Star selection before trade buzz materialized into an 11th hour move ahead of the deadline, netting the Nationals multiple prospects. The move also came shortly after the Nationals shifted from a potential postseason contender to rebuilding with the Griffin move marking one of three notable in-season trades alongside dealing Luis Garcia to the New York Yankees and Curtis Mead to the Boston Red Sox.

Yet the decision to turn to rebuilding efforts came after the Nationals proved to be among the surprises through the first half of the season, leading the league in both runs scored and hits with both James Wood and CJ Abrams anchoring the lineup en route to All Star selections, alongside Griffin. Though Abrams' production tailed off through the second half of the season and Wood's injuries limited his production over the final two months, both set multiple career highs as the Nationals' offense consistently ranked among the best across baseball.

The concern, though, remained clear throughout with pitching a continued sore spot for the Nationals.

After trending toward the record all season, the Nationals now stand alone atop MLB's most blown saves in a season after eclipsing 40 in September. Yet the bullpen wasn't the only sore spot after the Nationals' rotation largely struggled outside of Griffin and Cavalli with Miles Mikolas and Zack Littell among the struggling veterans whose hopeful production failed to materialize through the season. It adds a clear picture for the biggest offseason need for Toboni and the Nationals' front office with Connelly Early, who made his debut on Saturday after arriving in July in the Curtis Mead trade, joining Cavalli as anchors into a potential 2027 season.