Can In-House Option Upgrade Washington Nationals' 2027 Rotation?

The decisions in the rotation should be the top priority for a Washington Nationals' front office that saw struggles almost every night on the mound. How to upgrade the rotation is the question with Cade Cavalli and Connelly Early returning to provide a foundation, yet questions for the remaining three spots. Washington will need to turn outside the organization to scour through an expected limited pool of quality free agents in order to find answers, but there are options within the organization for Paul Toboni and the front office to evaluate.

Andrew Alvarez is one of those in-house options after the 27 year old left hander put together a strong close to his second season with the Nationals. Alvarez posted a 2-6 record, though owned a 3.43 ERA and 1.30 WHIP through the season. That also includes a jump through the second half of the season with Alvarez posting a 3.03 ERA and 1.18 WHIP as the Nationals picked up wins in each of his last three starts.

The former 12th round pick closed 2026 by tying a season-high five earned runs allowed, yet that came after tossing 13 combined scoreless innings with six hits allowed while tossing 16 strikeouts. That came after Alvarez posted a 2.45 ERA in six starts through August and another scoreless outing after lasting six innings on 97 pitches back on Aug. 30 against the Miami Marlins. He also went 11 consecutive appearances and over 56 innings without allowing a home run, marking the fourth longest streak in team history.

Alvarez made his debut as a starter in 2025 before opening the season in the same role with Triple A Rochester, dazzling enough to earn Pitcher of the Week honors after totaling ten strikeouts and allowing one hit and one walk over five shutout innings. He became the first pitcher of the season to record double digit strikeouts while allowing one hit in five innings or fewer.

Through two seasons, Alvarez is 3-7 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 134 strikeouts across 136 innings. Through the first half of the 2026 season, Alvarez struck out over 27% of hitters faced, good enough to rank among some of the best pitchers in baseball. The sample size is small, which may have also been applicable for Cavalli ahead of the 2026 season. The Nationals will have questions to answer with their third spot in the rotation behind Cavalli and Early with Alvarez maybe the most appealing option of all.