The Washington Nationals picked up the series sweep to once again shift the outlook on the rest of the 2026 regular season
This Washington team never says die, even when maybe it should.
In the last few weeks, the Nationals have been sellers at the trade deadline, gotten concerning injury updates their biggest acquisition in Connelly Early, been forced to put James Wood on the injured list… need I go on?
Yet, somehow, the Nationals are still hovering just two games under .500 and are coming off a series sweep of the Cincinnati Reds.
Before the Reds series, it looked like things were definitively headed in the wrong direction. Washington had dropped three straight series to the Blue Jays, Braves and Phillies, the second of which was a four-game sweep.
At the deadline, the Nationals decided who they were in a big way by selling. They showed a level of self-awareness, an understanding that, despite a surprisingly good season, this year was not necessarily headed for a deep fall run, or even the playoffs.
That much is still true -- this Nationals team is clearly not ready for playoff baseball, and are even less so after trading away quality hitters in Luis Garcia Jr. and Curtis Mead and perhaps the team's best starting pitcher in Foster Griffin. This season will not be ending with a parade, a banner, or likely even a playoff appearance.
Yet, the resilience the team has shown is perhaps a sign of good things to come.
To build a good team, the type that can make a deep run or win a ring, you obviously need good players. But you also need a certain competitive spirit, a cohesion... some type of identity that makes the team click.
Through the fire of this season, the Nationals may have forged that identity.
For one, the key players who will come to define this team have crystallized. James Wood, CJ Abrams, Cade Cavalli and others have made it through a selling trade deadline, a clear sign that the team and front office has greater designs for their future in the nation's capital.
Plus, they're young -- historically so. Outside of one pinch-hit appearance by Miles Mikolas, the team hasn't given a single plate appearance to a player 28 years or older (what a way to end that streak).
Beyond the players, though, the team has shown that it is willing to show up, play hard and fight for wins in the face of adversity. The sweep of the Reds is the most recent example, but they have been doing it all year -- from day one of the 2026 season, the Nationals have been written off, but the team has always competed.
Sure, it might be a better outcome for the Nationals to drop a few more games and secure a better draft position. But that's not who this team is, and that's a harbinger of a brighter future.
