Nationals Ready to Represent Washington in All Star Game

The Washington Nationals will have a trio of players represent the franchise in the 2026 MLB All Star game at Citizens Bank Park on Tuesday night after starting pitcher Foster Griffin served as a late addition alongside starting shortstop CJ Abrams and reserve outfielder James Wood.

For Griffin, the newest addition to the National League team, it marks a deserving honor even if it took an alternate selection to materialize. The former first round pick in 2014 spent just seven games between 2020 and 2022 in stints with the Kansas City Royals and Toronto Blue Jays, a three-year stint in Japan proved to be the spark in his career, now sitting among the best in the National League with a 10-2 record paired with a 2.77 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

After materializing into an All Star in Japan, the chance to replicate the feat now in the MLB is "pretty cool bucket list things I get to check off," he told Alex Flum.

For Wood, he becomes the first back-to-back All Star selection out of Washington since Juan Soto accomplished the feat in both 2021 and 2022, fueling the fire that the DMV native should be the one to get the first contract extension under president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and the new leadership. Wood enters the All Star break tied for first across MLB with a .984 OPS paired with 28 home runs, just three shy from tying last year's total.

The "unique blessing," as Wood called it, to emerge as the face of the franchise resonates with the product of nearby St. John's College High School and Olney Boys and Girls Club doing it with the hometown team.

As for Abrams, the lone starter among the three Nationals, he's set to bat fourth in the lineup revealed on Monday by National League and current Dodgers manager Dave Robert. While Tuesday makes Abrams the first National to start in the All Star game since Bryce Harper in 2018,  he will do so having already set a new career high with 67 RBIs, the fourth consecutive season he's eclipsed 60, while leading the team with a .284 batting average. He's also one of three players alongside Wood and Luis Garcia Jr. to hit 20 home runs on the season, a big reason why Washington enters the break sitting second across baseball with 138 home runs and 490 RBIs as a team.

"CJ's swinging the bat really well. I feel like Foster [has] just been lights out each time he's on the mound. They really earned it," Wood said. "I'm just happy to be here with them."

First pitch in the 2026 MLB All Star is set for 8 PM EST on FOX.

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