Are the rebuilt, talented, young Nats ready to win at last?

Now entering his eighth season as Nationals manager, Davey Martinez knows no team is like any of its predecessors.

The 2018 Nats were desperate to get over the October hump, maybe too desperate, and never even got there. The 2019 Nats were much looser, once they reached the depths of 19-31 and decided to just start having fun, all the way to a thrilling championship.

The 2020 Nats were ready to enjoy a victory lap, only to have it shut down by COVID. The 2021 Nats tried to run it back one more time with a veteran roster, then flamed out in July.

The 2022 Nats had to cope with the reality of a rebuild, then the shock of one of the biggest trades in baseball history. The 2023 Nats were young and hungry but knew they weren’t anywhere close to ready yet. And the 2024 Nats were energized by the arrival of two elite prospects but weren’t deep enough to sustain success for six months.

What, then, did Martinez see in the 2025 Nats over the course of six weeks in Florida? Youth. Talent. And a universal desire to move out of the organization’s agonizing rebuild phase and set the bar much higher.

“This year, spring training was a little bit different. Because they all seemed like they came with one idea, and that’s to win,” Martinez said. “All this stuff about: ‘We’re coming, we’re coming,’ they don’t want to hear that no more. They want to go out there and try to win, and that’s exciting.”

The road to a winning season begins Thursday with an Opening Day matchup against a hated division rival that’s been to the playoffs three years in a row and has much loftier expectations in 2025 than this team does. The path to 82 or more wins doesn’t look smooth. The Braves, Mets and Phillies all stand in the way in the NL East. A payroll that isn’t substantially greater than it was a year ago gives plenty of people reason to be skeptical. A lack of power in the lineup, a lack of a proven frontline starter in the rotation and a lack of sure things in the bullpen remain significant hurdles.

These Nationals acknowledge all that. But they also acknowledge what should be clear to anyone who has been paying attention the last three years as the roster was torn down to its studs and rebuilt in meticulous fashion: There’s way more young talent here now than there’s been in a long time.

“I think we have a lot of guys coming into their own at the same time,” said closer Kyle Finnegan, now the longest tenured player on the team, having debuted in 2020. “A lot of guys that are feeling more confident at the same time. We’re expecting strides from a lot of different players. And I think we’re getting better at doing the little things right, some things that maybe bit us last year.”

Young talent should make the Nationals more competitive this season. But in order to raise their win total from 71 to something that begins with an 8, they know they have to win more games that are there for the taking at the end.

Fundamental flaws killed the Nats last year. They were caught stealing 73 times (20 more than any other team). They were picked off 29 times (six more than any other team). They made 54 more outs on the bases (fourth-most in the National League). They were charged with 109 errors (third-most in the majors). They ranked 26th in Defensive Runs Saved.

Is it any wonder they finished 14-23 in one-run games, 5-12 in extra-inning games?

Flip those numbers with better fundamental play and consider what a difference it makes.

“This team won 71 games last year,” said Josh Bell, part of the 2021-22 teams and now back for his second stint with the club. “That’s like one game every other week over the course of the year. The little things add up.”

In his time away from D.C., Bell got to experience something he previously could only watch from afar during his big league career: pennant races. He went to the NLCS with the Padres in 2022. He went to the Wild Card Series with the Marlins in 2023. And he went down to the final day of the season with the Diamondbacks in 2024.

What did Bell learn the last three years about winning teams vs. losing teams?

“You have to earn it,” he said. “I don’t think it’s expected from any team I’ve been on. No one expects to win. But we know if we play our game the way we can, we’ll give ourselves the best shot, and we won’t shoot ourselves in the foot. I think it’s just about establishing who we are the first half of the season. Even if we can play .500 ball the first two months, once things start heating up in D.C. and the bats get hot, it should be a fun summer.”

Bell and two other veteran acquisitions (Nathaniel Lowe, Paul DeJong) were specifically brought in to help boost a power-starved lineup and help teach the young guys how to win. Lowe won a World Series with the Rangers. DeJong went to the playoffs four straight years with the Cardinals.

The addition of those and other veterans to what was one of the majors’ youngest rosters last September has helped foster the kind of clubhouse chemistry not seen here since Ryan Zimmerman and Max Scherzer were leading the way.

“I think the camaraderie part is getting stronger again,” Finnegan said. “I guess I got to witness the back end of that era. And then we were just in a transitional period for a couple of years. I think now it’s on that upward trajectory, a lot of guys being comfortable with each other and being excited about the players we have. I think there’s just a lot of positives happening at the same time, which is exciting.”

Chemistry is nice. Veteran leadership helps. But let’s not ignore the obvious difference between this Nationals team and its predecessors.

“I still believe our young players are the key to our success,” Martinez said. “We did add some veteran guys. We added some guys in the middle of our lineup we think could help drive in some runs. But I think our core young players, the kids, are really going to get us to where we need to be.”

If the Nationals are to deliver their first winning season since 2019, if they have any chance of playing meaningful baseball in September, if there’s any faint hope of a surprise pennant race, they undoubtedly will be led by James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore and other young building blocks who emerge along the way.

The whole idea of the rebuild was to create a new roster from scratch, headlined by young stars from inside and outside the organization. They’ve finally got the vast majority of the pieces in place. The only remaining question: Can this group start winning more games than it loses?

“Most definitely, I think we can and I know we can,” Abrams said. “This year will be a big year for us.”