We are already 10 days into the Nationals’ offseason and it has already been busy with the introduction of Paul Toboni as the new president of baseball operations one week ago. But before we look ahead at what’s to come this winter and in the 2026 season, let’s take some time to look back at what was a very eventual 2025 season.

Amy Jennings and I took a deep dive into various storylines during this week’s episode of the “District Chat” podcast, but here is a small sampling of the big picture topics that were discussed. You can check out our full breakdowns on your favorite podcasting platform or watch the show here.

We’ll be taking a break from new episodes until after the World Series. So we’ll be back in November with new episodes of “District Chat” that you can watch live on the MASN Nationals YouTube channel and Facebook page or listen wherever you get your audio.

Without further ado, some of our top storylines …

A tale of two halves
Now as it pertains to the team, it may be more like a tale of ⅓ and ⅔ of the season. After proclamations in spring training from then general manager Mike Rizzo and then manager Davey Martinez that this team would be competing for October, the Nationals were 28-30 at the end of May, good for third place in the National League East and only five games out of Wild Card spot.

Then they went 7-19 in June. And then they were swept in three games at home by the Red Sox over Independence Day Weekend and ownership decided it was time to make a change. Mike DeBartolo and Miguel Cairo were promoted to GM and manager, respectively, on an interim basis to finish the season.

At that point, the Nats were 37-53 (.411) through their first 90 games. They finished 29-43 (.403) the rest of the way, narrowly missing a 100-loss season.

On an individual level, some young Nationals had incredible first halves, only to see their seasons completely fall apart after the All-Star break.

The two most notable cases: James Wood and MacKenzie Gore. Both were selected to the All-Star Game for the first time. And both struggled to finish the season on a positive note.

Wood established himself as one of the best hitters in the league by hitting .278 with a .915 OPS, 24 home runs and 69 RBIs over his first 95 games. Then after participating in the Home Run Derby, he only hit .223 with a .690 OPS, seven homers and 25 RBIs in his final 62 games.

The worst sign was the increase of his strikeout rate. Wood only struck out 28 percent of the time during the first half. That rate skyrocketed to 39 percent in the second half as he neared Mark Reynolds’ single season strikeout record.

Gore also had an impressive first half, starting with his dominant performance against the Phillies on Opening Day. He went 4-8 with a 3.02 ERA, 1.196 WHIP and 138 strikeouts over his first 19 starts. But then he pitched to a 1-7 record, 6.75 ERA and 1.703 WHIP with only 47 strikeouts and 29 walks over his last 11.

Change of leadership
Throughout this rebuilding process, there were two constants: Rizzo and Martinez. That changed on July 6, when the Nationals announced ownership had relieved both of their long-held duties.

Rizzo had been one of the longest tenured executives in baseball. He joined the Nats as assistant general manager and vice president of baseball operations in July 2006. He was promoted to general manager on an interim basis when Jim Bowden resigned in March 2009 and was named the full-time GM five months later. And in October 2010, he was promoted to executive vice president of baseball operations and general manager, the title he held until this summer.

Martinez was hired as the Nats manager in October 2017, following the club’s back-to-back first-round exits after two division titles under Dusty Baker. His “Go 1-0 every day” mantra helped lead the Nats to their first World Series title in 2019. That motto also made him the perfect skipper to lead a young, inexperienced team during the rebuild. But after promising to be more competitive in 2025 and not being able to follow up with results, he was let go.

With parts of eight years under his belt, Martinez became the Nats’ longest tenured manager. But with a 500-622 (.446) record, he also has the worst record of any major league manager to win a World Series.

Both men did a lot for this organization. And one day, they hopefully will be celebrated at Nationals Park.

We already know Rizzo’s replacement. Time will tell who Toboni chooses to replace Martinez (and Cairo) in 2026.

Breakout seasons from prospects
It wasn’t all bad for the Nats on the field. Some under-the-radar prospects had breakout performances in 2025.

Brad Lord may have been the most under the radar a Nats prospect has ever been. The former 18th-round pick who worked at Home Depot over the offseason made the Opening Day roster and helped the Nationals in a variety of ways.

The right-hander started off in the bullpen, then had to move to the rotation before moving back to the ‘pen. And then out of the All-Star break, the Nats decided to give Lord a chance at starting full time.

Overall, he went 5-10 with a 4.34 ERA and 1.293 WHIP in his rookie season. As a reliever, he went 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 1.164 WHIP in 38 ⅔ innings over 29 appearances. As a starter, he went 4-9 with a 4.99 ERA and 1.348 WHIP in 19 outings.

But when he first rejoined the rotation to start the second half, he pitched a 2.77 ERA over his first five starts. He then struggled a little bit before finding success again with a 3.13 ERA over his first four starts in September.

Meanwhile, Daylen Lile might have been the biggest surprise in baseball this year. Long considered lower on the totem pole of outfielders in the Nats system, Lile finished his rookie campaign with a .299 average, .845 OPS, 15 doubles, 11 triples, nine home runs and 41 RBIs in 91 games.

He was named NL Rookie and Player of the Month in September as he put himself firmly in the discussion for NL Rookie of the Year.

Again, Amy and I hash out these topics further while also discussing others during the podcast, so be sure to catch the whole episode.