With winter meetings set to begin in Orlando, Florida and plenty of work ahead for new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni and manager Blake Butera, both announced by the team over the last two months, ESPN painted a bearish picture of what stands ahead of the Washington Nationals this upcoming offseason.

ESPN ranked the Washington Nationals 28th among the 30 MLB teams ahead of the winter meetings, noting “it has been the bare minimum of administrative roster maneuvering.”

“The Nationals have turned the page completely on the Mike Rizzo era everywhere but on the field,” Bradford Doolittle of ESPN wrote. “There's a new regime putting a new spin on things, with Paul Toboni taking over the front office and Blake Butera assuming control of the clubhouse. The presence of Abrams and MacKenzie Gore, among others, in the rumor mill might be smoke and mirrors, but it's also suggestive. The last rebuild didn't work and the best thing Toboni can do is spin the value of those players into more players. For Nats fans, the wait for relevance will continue into the uncertain future.”

It's an understandable takeaway for a Nationals squad looking to replace over 30 free agents, while uncertainty looms over the possibility of several young players potentially playing elsewhere in 2026 whether it be by the season opener or a midseason trade. ESPN included a pair of Nationals in pitcher MacKenzie Gore and shortstop CJ Abrams among 15 players who are trade candidates this offseason, giving Butera and Toboni their first major task with rebuilding the roster in hopes of securing the first winning season since 2019.

Reports continued to point to Gore as a realistic trade candidate after ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN reported that Toboni “has held discussions with multiple teams about Gore, but the ask is understandably high” with two years left on his contract. CBS Sports reported that the Nationals are “not inclined to move him unless they get a particularly strong proposal” after the 26-year-old is coming off his first All-Star selection following a strong first half of the 2025 season.

"This is president of baseball operations Paul Toboni's first offseason at the helm of the Nationals. In recent years, the Nats have added to their young roster by signing veterans to short-term deals. Will Toboni take the same approach? Or will he be more active in inking long-term contracts? This winter will be the first glimpse into the 35-year-old's approach to constructing a roster," MLB.com questioned.

Meanwhile, the Nationals have continued to build out its coaching staff with former Charlotte assistant Phillip Cebuhar now headed to Washington as an assistant hitting coach, becoming the latest name to join the staff. The Nationals previously added several other assistants with Corey Ray joining the organization as the new first base coach, replacing Gerrardo Parra. Grant Anders, who spent time with the Orioles, will also join the Nationals as both the new bullpen catcher and MLB development coach. Desmond McGowan was the first addition to the coaching staff, joining as the Director of Amateur Acquisitions after spending time with both the New York Yankees and Mets over the last six seasons.