Some lingering Nats questions ahead of spring training

Does it feel like this offseason has gone by really quickly to anyone else, or is it just me? It seems like only yesterday we were watching an epic Game 7 of the World Series between the Blue Jays and the eventual champion Dodgers. And now here we are, less than a month away from pitchers and catchers reporting to West Palm Beach.

Don’t get me wrong, the upcoming start of a new baseball season is exciting. It just seems that every offseason moves quicker and quicker as the years go on.

But I digress …

Though it may not seem like it, the Nationals have been pretty busy this offseason. Yes, I know a lot of fans wish there were more moves made to the major league roster, but new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has been hard at work rebuilding the whole organization the way he wants. Unfortunately for fans, a lot of that work can’t be seen right now.

The Nats did bring back right-hander Trevor Gott on a minor league deal yesterday, per multiple reports. The 33-year-old pitched in Washington during the 2016-18 seasons after being acquired from the Angels in a trade for infielder Yunel Escobar.

But that still leaves a lot of questions to be answered. And we won’t get most of those answers until the first day of camp on Feb. 10.

So here are some lingering Nats questions relating to baseball I have ahead of spring training 2026 …

* What can we expect from Josiah Gray this year?
One of the two key pieces in the July 2021 trade with the Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, the Nats had high expectations for Gray as they started a rebuild. The right-hander was on his way to fulfilling them early in his career, being named an All-Star in 2023 and the Nats’ Opening Day starter in 2024.

But after just his second start of the 2024 season on April 4, he felt some soreness in his right forearm, which is never a good sign for a pitcher. It was initially diagnosed as a flexor strain and Gray was able to pitch in some minor league rehab games two months later. But then he felt a new soreness in his elbow after a June 30 start with Triple-A Rochester, an even worse sign.

Gray had an MRI that revealed a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament, requiring him to undergo Tommy John surgery in July 2024 and also an internal brace procedure to further strengthen his new elbow ligament.

He had hoped to make it back to the major leagues by the end of the 2025 season. But even with three successful minor league rehab starts and seemingly no setbacks, he ran out of time to rejoin the Nats.

Now here he is ahead of the 2026 season. He’s seemingly fully healthy and will be 19 months removed from surgery when he reports to West Palm in February. But what can we expect from Gray after major elbow surgery and missing so much time?

“I don’t want to say 100 percent sure, but Josiah seems like he’s in a really good spot,” Toboni told reporters at the Winter Meetings. “I think he should be ready for spring training, to be full-go.”

If Gray is indeed full-go, he should make a Nats Opening Day rotation that is relatively inexperienced and could be even more so if Toboni decides to trade MacKenzie Gore before camp.

Gray will surely be on an innings limit this year and it will be paramount for him to stay healthy throughout the season. Given all of that – and assuming he pitches well – what are a reasonable number of starts and innings for him?

In his two full, healthy seasons, Gray pitched 148 ⅔ innings over 28 starts in 2022 and 159 frames over 30 outings in 2023. Is that somewhere in the ballpark? Or will the Nats want to reign him in a bit more?

* Will the World Baseball Classic hinder Harry Ford’s chances of making the Opening Day roster?
Playing for one’s country is the highest honor in sports. If given the chance, every athlete should do it without question.

But for young Ford, the Nats’ presumed backup catcher heading into the new season after he was acquired in a trade with the Mariners for Jose A. Ferrer, it may set him back a bit with his new team.

Ford is set to play again for Great Britain in this spring’s WBC, which unfortunately takes place right in the middle of spring training. He’ll likely miss at least 10 days of camp with the Nationals while playing for his parents’ home country. At best, he’ll return for the final week of Grapefruit League action before the Nats break camp and head north.

This time in camp is especially important for pitchers and catchers, hence why they report earlier than the rest of the team. It’s even more important for new catchers so they can learn and get to know the pitching staff better ahead of the season.

That being said, the opportunity to play for a national team again is one that Ford shouldn’t pass up. He burst onto the scene in the 2023 tournament, batting .308 with two homers, a double, four RBIs and a 1.246 OPS in four games. That experience showed him how important it is to play in those games, both for him personally and for those looking up to him.

“One hundred percent, it is a big thing for me,” he said when talking to reporters on his introductory Zoom from Great Britain. “We talk about it all the time, how we’re trying to grow the game and give people opportunities to play who don’t get the chance. And that’s a lot of kids here. A lot of kids here that, no matter how much they love baseball, they can’t play or don’t have the means to get better. That’s definitely something I am passionate about.”

Missing all that time will probably hurt Ford’s chances of making the Opening Day roster. But the top prospect, who entered the Nats’ system at No. 2 and was recently ranked as the No. 9 catching prospect in the sport by MLB Pipeline, should still make it back to the majors early in the season if he performs well.

Or who knows? Maybe he’s good enough that the time off won’t hurt his chances.

* Is the outfield too crowded?
Depth is never a bad thing. That rings especially true in spring training because it creates competition to bring out the best in players.

Everyone knows the Nationals have a lot of depth in the outfield, which is filled with young, promising players. But you can only play three outfielders at a time. Teams stretch that by playing a traditional outfielder in the designated hitter role and/or by using a rotating outfield with a fourth (sometimes fifth) reserve player. The Nats did a lot of that last year.

The Nationals currently have seven outfielders on their 40-man roster: Dylan Crews, Christian Franklin, Robert Hassell III, Daylen Lile, Joey Wiemer, James Wood and Jacob Young. They will extend spring training invites to prospects like Andrew Pinckney. And they’ll likely bring in some veteran outfielders looking for another chance at the bigs on minor league deals.

Wood and Crews are sure-things. Lile really impressed down the stretch last year, finishing fifth in National League Rookie of the Year voting. Young brings Gold Glove-caliber defense and the most major league experience. Hassell has shown his potential in flashes. The rest will be given a shot.

Having outfield depth is a good thing. But there is only so much playing time to go around. Perhaps this is an area Toboni can deal from to acquire a player to fill another need?

What are some of your lingering Nats questions ahead of spring training?