The news got buried in the aftermath of the MacKenzie Gore trade, but the Nationals also made another waiver claim Thursday and in a corresponding move designated Riley Adams for assignment.

The Nats claimed reliever Gus Varland from the Diamondbacks, bringing aboard a 29-year-old right-hander with a 4.82 ERA in 42 career major league games with the Brewers, Dodgers and White Sox. All of those appearances came from 2023-24; Varland spent the majority of the 2025 season on the injured list recovering from a lat strain, able to pitch in only eight minor league games.

Needing to clear a 40-man roster spot for Varland, the Nationals designated Adams, a move that traditionally leads to a departure from the organization but likely won’t in this particular case because of a quirk of the catcher’s contract.

Adams, who has played 251 games for the Nats since his July 2021 acquisition from the Blue Jays for closer Brad Hand, agreed last month to a split contract that guaranteed him $1 million if he was on the major league roster and $500,000 if he accepted an outright assignment to the minors.

We’re seeing now why the Nationals made that offer, and why Adams agreed to it. With Harry Ford expected to join Keibert Ruiz behind the plate, Adams was probably going to be the odd man out. And because he’s out of options, he couldn’t have been sent to Triple-A without first clearing waivers.

On the day he traded Juan Soto, Mike Rizzo acknowledged the raw emotions everyone was feeling at the time but insisted it ultimately would leave the Nationals in a better position to win long-term.

“I think it accelerates the process,” the former general manager said. “I think that you lose a generational talent like that, but you put in five key elements of your future championship roster.”

Not even 3 1/2 years later, the man who replaced Rizzo running baseball operations tried to explain how trading away one of those “key elements of your future championship roster” for five more prospects – long before this franchise has come anywhere close to winning again – will put the Nats in a better position to win long-term, a message that is increasingly difficult for a weary fanbase to accept.

“I hear it, and I empathize with it,” Paul Toboni said Thursday night after trading MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers. “There would be part of me – I think back to my 15-year-old self; I was a Giants fan at the time – bummed to see a player of this caliber leaving, and a leader on the team and that sort of thing.

“But I would paint a much more optimistic picture. I think the excitement that comes with these players we’re getting in return exceeds the disappointment of seeing MacKenzie go. That’s just me talking as the head of baseball operations now. I’m really excited about the package we’ve gotten in return. And I hope fans see it in the same way.”

The Nationals have agreed to trade left-hander MacKenzie Gore to the Rangers for a package of five prospects, including Texas’ first-round pick from last summer’s draft, in Paul Toboni’s first blockbuster deal since becoming the club’s president of baseball operations.

The trade, which was officially announced late this afternoon, sends Gore to Texas with two years of club control remaining and makes the 26-year-old burgeoning ace the first player acquired in the Juan Soto megadeal of 2022 to be dealt away.

As was the case in the Soto deal, the Nats receive five prospects in return for Gore, though this package does not include as many highly rated players.

The return from the Rangers features shortstop Gavin Fien (a 2025 first round pick), right-hander Alejandro Rosario (formerly a top-50 prospect who is expected to miss the entire 2026 season following Tommy John surgery), infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald (drafted in 2024 out of high school), outfielder Yeremy Cabrera (20-year-old signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2022) and first baseman Abimelec Ortiz (23-year-old who posted a .953 OPS in 41 games at Triple-A last season).

Those five players’ most recent rankings among the Rangers’ top prospects, per MLB Pipeline: Fien (No. 2), Rosario (No. 6), Fitz-Gerald (No. 12), Cabrera (No. 16) and Ortiz (No. 18). None made Pipeline’s overall Top-100 list, though that organization has yet to update its rankings for 2026.

As spring training creeps closer – only 19 days until pitchers and catchers report! – we’re starting to see the unveiling of various preseason top prospect rankings from the major outlets who compile such things. And the Nationals’ No. 1 pick from last summer’s draft is all over those rankings.

Eli Willits debuts as the 31st best prospect in the sport, according to Baseball America, which released its 2026 Top 100 list Wednesday. That may sound a bit low for the first player selected in the draft, but keep in mind he just turned 18 and has played only 15 games to date as a professional.

Willits, the dynamic all-around shortstop from Oklahoma, “has a chance for five average or better tools and should be the Nationals’ shortstop of the future,” per Baseball America’s blurb. Consider that a major compliment, touting his lack of weaknesses in all aspects of the game. And if that 15-game debut for Single-A Fredericksburg – a .300 batting average, .397 on-base percentage and .757 OPS – offered a glimpse of things to come, Willits should live up to the billing.

Eleven of the 30 prospects ranked above Willits are also shortstops, which is by far the most loaded position in the minor leagues at the moment. Consider MLB Pipeline’s recent exercise ranking the top 10 shortstop prospects: Willits is eighth on that list, even though he ended the 2025 season as the No. 15 overall prospect in baseball per that outlet.

It’s notable that Willits outranks fellow Oklahoma shortstop and fellow 2025 first rounder Ethan Holliday, who ranks 10th on that MLB Pipeline top shortstops list and 80th overall in the sport on Baseball America’s list.

The Nationals made another under-the-radar roster move Tuesday, claiming utilityman Mickey Gasper off waivers from the Twins. It’s the kind of move that doesn’t garner major headlines, and fan reactions tend to lean more sarcastic than serious.

But it’s the kind of move we should maybe start expecting more regularly from the Nats’ new front office, which seems to be scouring every possible alternative to the traditional free agent market in search of players who can fill out rosters not only at the big league level but the minors as well.

Gasper isn’t close to a high-profile acquisition. He’s 30 years old, he’s taken only 133 MLB plate appearances and he’s produced a measly .445 OPS in the process. He’s a catcher who also plays first base, second base and the outfield. Yeah, he’s not your conventional ballplayer.

What Gasper has done is produce a stout .303/.406/.512 slash line in 490 plate appearances the last three seasons with the Triple-A affiliates of the Yankees, Red Sox and Twins. He appears to own the International League.

And given his ability to play just about anywhere on the field – he’s even pitched three times in the minors – he’s the kind of player who probably won’t have much impact on a major league roster but absolutely could be helpful to a minor league club.

This was always going to be a strange Hall of Fame election. After three players (Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, Billy Wagner) were elected one year ago, the 2026 ballot wasn’t going to include any slam-dunk first-time candidates. And the returning candidates, several of them compelling cases in their own rights, all had some kinds of red flags hurting their cause, whether on the field or off it.

In my case, I knew from the outset I would either need to vote for a first-time nominee or change my past vote on a returning candidate to risk submitting a blank ballot to the Hall of Fame. For the record, voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America absolutely are allowed to submit a blank ballot if they don’t believe any candidates are worthy of induction. But that’s not a path I particularly wanted to go down for the first time. (The maximum number of names permitted is 10, a number I have reached multiple times before.)

So, as I mentioned in last year’s column, I had to think long and hard about lowering some of my longstanding criteria for Hall of Fame worthiness. I’ve always believed a player needs to check off three boxes to earn my vote: 1) Excellence, 2) Longevity and 3) No on-field actions that fail to meet the character, integrity and sportsmanship standards the Hall instructs us to consider in addition to actual playing performance.

In the end, I felt it was appropriate to lower the standard for one of those criteria: Longevity. I’ve always believed players needed not only to dominate the sport, but to maintain that dominance over a significant period of time. There’s no magic number of seasons that qualifies, but it probably needed to reach double digits to be safe.

Thing is, it’s probably too much to ask today’s players to live up to that standard. Especially pitchers, whose careers just don’t last as long as they did decades ago because of the max effort most are asked to give and the inevitable injuries and deterioration that’s likely to come once they reach their 30s.

It’s a big day in the baseball world, because it’s Hall of Fame election day. Or, to be more precise, Hall of Fame election results announcement day.

The actual election took place earlier this winter, with BBWAA voters receiving ballots in late-November and required to mail them back no later than Dec. 31. Three weeks later, those ballots will be tallied and the results announced at 6 p.m. EST on MLB Network.

Each year’s ballot is distinctive, with its own individual quirks. This year’s is no different, with 12 first-time nominees (but none of them obvious slam dunks to be elected) and 15 returning nominees (several of them seemingly on the cusp of enshrinement).

As always, I’ll publish my own official ballot and explainer column later this evening after the results are announced. So please be sure to check back and read one of my favorite articles of the year. Until then, here are some of the biggest things to keep an eye on leading up to tonight’s revelation …

IS THIS THE YEAR FOR BELTRAN AND JONES?
The top two returning candidates are the two candidates with the best chance of being elected tonight: Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones. Beltran got awfully close last year, named on 70.3 percent of ballots. Jones was a bit farther back at 66.2 percent. It would not be surprising if both reached the magical 75 percent threshold for induction this time around. Beltran has always had a rock-solid baseball case; he’s mostly been held back by those who believe his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal in 2017 disqualifies him based on the Hall’s longstanding instructions that voters consider character, integrity and sportsmanship in addition to playing performance. Jones has perhaps been held back somewhat by the fact he pled guilty in 2013 to domestic violence charges against his wife, probably held back more so because his on-field performance took a nosedive after age 30. But there seems to be growing support for both, and if anyone is going to get voted in this year, these are the two most likely candidates.

The Nationals ultimately did settle with Cade Cavalli to avoid arbitration, in the process agreeing to an unconventional deal that establishes a significant raise for the right-hander in 2027 if he pitches well in 2026.

Cavalli and the Nats agreed Sunday to a contract that will pay him $862,500 this season, with a $4 million club option for next season that could be bought out for a mere $7,000, a source familiar with the terms confirmed.

The 2026 salary figure falls right at the midpoint between the numbers each side formally submitted for arbitration 11 days ago. Cavalli had sought $900,000; the team had offered $825,000. In reality, he’s guaranteed to make at least $869,500 because of the inclusion of the buyout.

It’s a small win for Cavalli, but the bigger win would come if he puts together an impressive first full major league season, convincing the Nationals he’s worth the $4 million option in 2027. (He would still be under club control if the option isn't picked up and would just need to go through the arbitration process again.)

How well would he need to pitch for the club to pick up the option? For comparison’s sake, Jake Irvin will earn $2.8 million this season as a first-time arbitration-eligible player who is coming off a difficult season in which he went 9-13 with a 5.70 ERA and 1.428 WHIP while allowing a league leading 38 homers in 180 innings.

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.

As the vast majority of the Nationals’ front office and coaching staffs were overhauled this fall and winter, one corner of the organization remained intact.

The club’s international scouting department is still under previous management, namely Victor Rodriguez, who was hired in 2023 and for the last two years has been director international operations. Rodriguez was hired by Mike Rizzo, but he continues to serve in the same role under Paul Toboni.

What helped his cause? The fact his first job was with the Red Sox, who employed both Toboni and Justin Horowitz. And the fact his next job was with the Rays, who employed Anirudh Kilambi. Those three men now hold some of the top titles in the Nats front office, with Rodriguez a welcome face running one of baseball operations’ most important departments.

“It’s always good to come and see somebody that you’ve worked with in the past, because that learning curve and that trust gets expedited a little bit better,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really exciting for me to be able to work alongside all these guys again.”

Rodriguez spoke with reporters Thursday, when Major League Baseball’s international signing period officially opened. The Nationals added 15 new players from three Latin American countries, a group headlined by two highly ranked Dominican outfielders: Samil Serrano and Isaias Suarez.

While there’s been plenty of discussion around here about the Nationals’ Opening Day roster and what holes still need to be filled between now and then, there’s been less discussion about some of the organization’s most intriguing young players who aren’t part of the immediate plan but certainly are part of the long term plan.

The Nats’ farm system has experienced some real ups and downs in recent years. What had been one of the sport’s worst systems was reinvigorated with the Juan Soto trade in 2022 and began showing up in the top-10 rankings of several major publications one year later.

The “graduations” of James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, Cade Cavalli and others, though, in the last year-plus have left the organization back towards the bottom of the pile. New 2026 preseason rankings haven’t been published yet, but Baseball America had the Nats at No. 21 last summer and MLB Pipeline had them at No. 23.

We know one of Paul Toboni’s primary goals as president of baseball operations is to build a consistent player development machine that pumps out quality big leaguers year in and year out. That takes time, but the cupboard he inherited isn’t entirely bare, either.

The Nationals have four top-100 prospects in the game, according to MLB Pipeline’s most recent rankings: Eli Willits (15), Harry Ford (42), Travis Sykora (49) and Jarlin Susana (87). The rest of the organization’s current top-10: Luis Perales, Luke Dickerson, Alex Clemmey, Landon Harmon, Seaver King and Ethan Petry.

The Nationals announced today they will begin producing and broadcasting games directly through Major League Baseball this season, ending a 21-year relationship with MASN.

Nationals.tv, as it is being branded, will broadcast all locally televised games in 2026, available through cable and satellite providers in the region as well as through MLB’s direct-to-consumer streaming platform.

The arrangement mirrors those of six other franchises (Padres, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Rockies, Twins, Guardians) who in recent years have left their regional sports networks and partnered directly with MLB to broadcast their games.

“Today’s announcement represents a new chapter for Washington Nationals baseball,” managing principal owner Mark Lerner said in a statement. “We are excited to have already begun work with the talented team at MLB, and the collaboration is off to a strong start as we work together to elevate the viewing experience with world-class broadcasts across television and streaming.

“Partnering with MLB offers us several new opportunities that will greatly improve the on-air product, including technological enhancements, the ability to work more closely with our broadcasters, and create added opportunities for our valued corporate partners. We’re thrilled to be able to offer the kind of presentation that our dedicated fans across the entire Mid-Atlantic region deserve.”

Though most of the moves they’ve made to date haven’t warranted major headlines, the Nationals have made a good number of moves since season’s end 3 1/2 months ago.

Twelve players who ended the 2025 season on the club’s 40-man roster no longer reside there: Jorge Alfaro, Josh Bell, Zach Brzykcy, Paul DeJong, Jose A. Ferrer, Sauryn Lao, Trey Lipscomb, Ryan Loutos, Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Eduardo Salazar, CJ Stubbs, Mason Thompson.

Which means 12 new players have since been added to the 40-man roster: Riley Cornelio, Harry Ford, Christian Franklin, Foster Griffin, Griff McGarry, Luis Perales, Paxton Schultz and Joey Wiemer, plus four guys who were reinstated from the 60-day injured list (Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Drew Millas, Trevor Williams).

That’s a healthy amount of turnover for an organization, though probably not unexpected considering the turnover that’s also occurred in the front office and coaching staff.

But it can be hard to keep up with all the transactions. So let’s take a moment this morning to run through the entire 40-man roster as currently constructed, understanding there can and will be more changes to come before pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach in a mere four weeks.

The Nationals’ most notable participant in this year’s World Baseball Classic might just be one of the stars of one of the tournament’s biggest underdogs.

Harry Ford has officially been named to Great Britain’s roster for this spring’s international event, the second time the young catcher will represent the birthplace of his parents, the first time he’ll do so as member of the Nats organization and as a big leaguer.

Ford was born and raised outside Atlanta, but both of his parents were born in England, giving him dual citizenship. He has spent a good portion of this offseason with his father, who has returned to live in his home country.

The Brits made their WBC debut three years ago and became one of the tournament’s darlings after scoring an upset victory over Colombia before ultimately losing in group play to the United States and Mexico. And Ford, only 20 at the time and with no experience higher than the Mariners’ Single-A affiliate, was one of the breakout stars of the team, batting .308 with two homers, a double, four RBIs and a 1.246 OPS in four games.

He emerged from the experience with an even stronger desire to return and try to lift his adopted home country to new heights the next time around.

The Nationals’ most glaring need as we reach the four-week mark before pitchers and catchers report to spring training? It’s easy to look at the vacuum currently at first base and declare that position as priority No. 1.

But let’s not sleep on the bullpen. Or, more accurately, let’s hope the Nats aren’t sleeping on the bullpen. Because there’s a whole lot of work that still needs to be done there.

A group that already was thin on experience when the 2025 season ended no longer has its most experienced arm. Burgeoning closer Jose A. Ferrer was traded to the Mariners last month to acquire potential long-term catching solution Harry Ford.

That leaves an awfully thin relief corps now headlined by young right-handers Cole Henry and Clayton Beeter, who collectively have accrued 1 year, 129 days of major league service time.

And it’s not like the guys behind them on the depth chart have been around long themselves: left-handers Konnor Pilkington (152 days) and PJ Poulin (55 days), right-handers Jackson Rutledge (1 year, 25 days), Orlando Ribalta (1 year, 13 days), Julian Fernandez (2 years, 42 days but only 10 MLB appearances) and the just-acquired Paxton Schultz (78 days).

In taking the job as the Nationals’ new hitting coach under first-year manager Blake Butera, Matt Borgschulte finds himself back in a familiar situation.

When Borgschulte was named the Orioles’ co-hitting coach with Ryan Fuller ahead of the 2022 season, he was tasked with getting the most out of a lot of highly touted, yet still developing young hitters on an up-and-coming team.

Now, after a stop as the sole hitting coach with the Twins last year, the 35-year-old is again tasked with the development of some young hitters who still possess immense potential.

“The youth of the group is awesome. And then the potential,” Borgschulte said earlier this week on a Zoom call with reporters. “We have a lot of different types of players, but ultimately, the desire, the competitiveness that these guys have to want to continue to improve, I think, is a really, really big benefit. Because sometimes guys think they get to the major leagues and then, OK, they've made it, let's just play and have fun. And obviously it's a game. We want to continue to play and have fun. But the growth never stops. And the moment that that does stop, then we start to see some guys kind of fall back. So having the desire for them to continue to try to reach higher and higher and continue to improve is something that I'm truly excited about.”

The Orioles had a top farm system in baseball in 2022, their long rebuild starting to pay dividends. Yes, Borgschulte inherited a lot of talented players when he went to Baltimore, but he had to make sure their presumed potential was reached at the major league level.

The Nationals are bringing in another controllable reliever, one with a track record for pitching multiple innings out of the bullpen.

The club claimed Paxton Schultz off waivers from the Blue Jays on Friday, picking up the 28-year-old right-hander five days after he was designated for assignment when Toronto needed to clear a 40-man roster spot to sign Japanese slugger Kazuma Okamoto.

Schultz has 13 games of major league experience, all of them coming last season when he posted a 4.38 ERA and 1.419 WHIP. He made two starts, but both were abbreviated outings in which he was held to 40-45 pitches.

A starter through most of his minor league career, Schultz moved to the bullpen in 2024 and earned his way to the big leagues the following year with his ability to throw multiple innings in relief. He totaled two or more innings in six of his 13 outings and threw 40 or more pitches in seven of them, including an April 20 debut against the Mariners in which he tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings while striking out eight.

Schultz wound up striking out 28 batters in 24 2/3 MLB innings, walking only eight. Those numbers were better than he showed in 25 games with Triple-A Buffalo during the season, when he delivered a 3.31 ERA and 1.102 WHIP but struck out fewer batters (46) than innings pitched (49) while walking 17.

Will Paul Toboni’s first offseason running the Nationals end with his first arbitration hearing against a player? If the club and Cade Cavalli can’t settle on their own in the next few weeks, they will indeed have to let a three-judge panel decide the right-hander’s 2026 salary.

Cavalli was the only one of the Nats’ seven arbitration-eligible players who did not agree to terms with the team prior to Thursday night’s leaguewide deadline. The two sides were required to file arbitration figures, with Cavalli asking for $900,000 and the club countering at $825,000, according to USA Today.

The $75,000 difference represents the smallest gap between any of the 18 major leaguers who filed for arbitration this year, paled in comparison to the record-setting $13 million gap between Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and the Tigers ($32 million vs. $19 million).

Given the relatively modest difference, there’s reason to believe Cavalli and the Nationals will be able to continue negotiations and possibly settle on their own before a trial actually takes place prior to the start of spring training. But given the lack of any track record from Toboni and his front office, it’s hard to say how the new president of baseball operations will approach these cases, whether he follows the lead of some other executives who refuse to extend negotiations once they’ve already filed for arbitration.

Cavalli’s case is an unusual one, because the 27-year-old has far less experience than most players who reach this stage of their careers, having made only 11 MLB starts.

There hasn’t been a whole lot of baseball news coming out of South Capitol Street the last few weeks, but we will have some news today.

It’s arbitration deadline day across the major leagues, with teams and players who have more than three years but fewer than six years of service time required to either agree to terms on their salary for the 2026 season or officially file competing arbitration figures.

It’s hardly the most exciting day of the year, and really all we’re talking about here is how much money these guys will make this season. Nobody’s in danger of losing his job.

But it’s a necessary step in the often complicated arbitration process. And with a new front office now running the show, it may give us some clues about how this group approaches things differently than the previous one did (if at all).

The Nats had seven arbitration-eligible players when the offseason began, but they already agreed to terms with two of them on 2026 contracts. Right-hander Josiah Gray, who is finally ready to return from his 2024 Tommy John surgery, agreed to the same $1.35 million salary he earned last season. Catcher Riley Adams, who faces an uncertain future with Keibert Ruiz already locked up and top prospect Harry Ford acquired from the Mariners last month, agreed to a $1 million deal (up from $850,000 last year).

While making a point to say every hitter on his roster will have his own strengths and weaknesses and individualized game plans, Matt Borgschulte does believe in an overarching philosophy as the Nationals’ new hitting coach. And it really gets to the entire point of the game of baseball.

“The goal of the offense is to score runs,” he said. “And we’re going to value every aspect of hitting that we can to maximize that run scoring potential of the offense. Whether that’s hitting the ball over the fence, in the gap and driving for extra bases, or whether that’s taking a good at-bat, taking our walks and really owning the zone.”

Officially hired last month, Borgschulte fits the basic profile of manager Blake Butera’s new coaching staff. Like so many others he’s now working with in the big leagues, he never actually played in the big leagues. And at 35, he’s still extremely young, potentially younger than one or more of his players if the Nats end up signing a veteran or two free agents before spring training.

But Borgschulte does have something Butera and many others on the staff do not have: Actual MLB coaching experience. He spent 2022-24 as the Orioles’ co-hitting coach with Ryan Fuller. Then he spent the 2025 season as the Twins’ hitting coach, losing that job after manager Rocco Baldelli was fired.

In Baltimore, he oversaw an incredibly young but talented lineup that included Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday, one that ranked among the most productive units in baseball while winning 101 games in 2023 and 91 games in 2024.