Where the Nats roster most needs to be bolstered

Baseball’s annual GM Meetings wrap up this morning in Las Vegas, and as is always the case, there hasn’t been a whole lot of hard news coming out of the event. This isn’t the Winter Meetings (which are coming up Dec. 7-10 in Orlando), where the rumors fly fast and furious and we often get major news breaking at all hours of the day and night.

The process, though, begins at the GM Meetings, with executives starting to get a sense of what other teams are looking to do, who they might want to sign and who they might be willing to trade. And surely Paul Toboni has spent the last three days talking to as many people as possible as he prepares to embark on his first Hot Stove League as a major league president of baseball operations.

Toboni’s primary focus since taking the job in late-September has been overhauling the Nationals’ front office, then hiring a manager (Blake Butera, whose introductory press conference is now set for 1:30 p.m. Monday, by the way) and filling out his coaching staff. But the attention will shift to improving the roster soon enough, and there is no shortage of work that needs to be done in that regard.

Toboni inherits a roster that won only 66 games but lost only three veterans to free agency in Josh Bell, Paul DeJong and Derek Law (who was hurt the entire season). Pretty much all of the regulars return, but that doesn’t mean the 2026 Opening Day roster is anywhere close to set. The Nats are going to want to improve at a number of positions, and that can’t come solely from within the organization.

Though he hasn’t publicly stated his wish list yet, Toboni should be looking at three positions in particular that need upgrading no matter what: First base, starting pitching, relief pitching.

With Bell gone – though the popular veteran could theoretically re-sign – the only traditional first baseman remaining on the roster is Andres Chaparro. It’s safe to say he won’t be in the lineup on Opening Day, not unless something goes terribly wrong along the way.

The Nationals have been in this position for a while now, seeking a quality power bat who can play a competent first base. Nathaniel Lowe didn’t work out as hoped last year, forcing Bell to play the field after serving primarily as DH from April through July. Joey Gallo didn’t work out as hoped in 2024, and Joey Meneses’ fairy tale didn’t have a happy ending. Dominic Smith, despite smooth defense, didn’t hit nearly enough in 2023.

Will Toboni do as Mike Rizzo did and look for an affordable, short-term solution at first base? Or might he have the ability and desire to think bigger and try to acquire someone either via free agency or trade who could be part of the long-term plan around here? Or does he have any thought of moving Luis García Jr. off second base and hoping he’s less of a defensive liability at first base while also providing enough offensive punch for a corner infield position?

Starting pitching won’t come cheap; it never does. But the Nationals really do need to add a proven arm to a rotation that sorely lacks one. Yes, the future very much depends on the continued development of MacKenzie Gore and Cade Cavalli – and eventually, once they’re healthy, Travis Sykora and Jarlin Susana – into frontline starters. But this team desperately needs an experienced big leaguer who can be counted on for 150 innings and a sub-4.00 ERA. Those do still exist out there, right?

The Nats also need more experienced relievers to join an extremely young bullpen that does have several intriguing arms in Jose A. Ferrer, Cole Henry and Clayton Beeter but is very much lacking in depth. This again is not a new position for the team. Rizzo thought he had addressed the problem last winter with the bargain-basement signings of Jorge López, Lucas Sims and Colin Poche. All three proved to be disasters, helping sink the season by May.

Toboni may or may not spend more money than his predecessor on relievers. The real emphasis should be on acquiring bullpen arms that still have good days ahead of them, not those whose best days are clearly behind them.

There are plenty of other moves the Nationals could make this winter. Hardly anything is set in stone. There’s a strong argument for improvement at catcher, at least one other infield position and DH. And if Toboni makes a bold move like trading supposed building blocks like Gore or CJ Abrams, he’s going to have to fill the holes he would be creating with those transactions.

Suffice it to say, there’s a lot to be done for a first-time head of baseball operations who is about to show us just how up to the task he really is.