The organization had its reasons for staying low-key this season, balancing both strategic and financial decisions. But that won't shield them from the rising threats in the competitive National League East.
The Washington Nationals pitchers and catchers report to spring training in just under two weeks. When they step onto the field, they'll start preparing for a season where their highest-paid player, new first baseman Nathaniel Lowe, will make about the same as a reliever like A.J. Minter — the 11th-highest-paid New York Met — or Max Kepler, the ninth-highest-paid Philadelphia Phillie. Lowe will even make slightly more than Joe Jiménez, a reliever who’s the ninth-highest-paid Atlanta Brave.
Is this how a team is supposed to compete in the National League East?
And, let’s not forget: over the last five seasons, the team that’s lost the most games is… the Washington Nationals.
Now, we're not trying to rain on the spring training parade before it even begins. February is, after all, the month for hope and optimism. For the Nats, that hope lies with their young stars — outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews, pitchers MacKenzie Gore and Jake Irvin, and shortstop CJ Abrams, chief among them. The organization also had its reasons for a quiet offseason, both baseball and business-related.
But if the Nationals are going to inject some real energy into a franchise and fan base that desperately needs it — the Nats haven’t ranked in the top half of MLB in attendance since 2018 — the rebuild needs to be over. It’s time for the ownership group, led by the Lerner family, to step up with real investment — financial, personnel, technological, and emotional.
Speaking of the Lerners: For now, they’re staying put. You may remember the saga: In April 2022, Mark Lerner, eldest of Ted Lerner’s three children, announced the family was exploring a sale of the team. But after 22 months of searching for a buyer who met their price, the family pulled the team off the market.
Ted Leonsis, CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment — which owns the NBA’s Wizards, NHL’s Capitals, and WNBA’s Mystics — made it clear last May that they were interested in buying the team. But it turns out, the right time wasn’t this offseason. Leonsis did not make a new offer, according to sources familiar with the process. So, the time is not now.
The Lerners were once willing to spend big, backing General Manager Mike Rizzo in building a sustainable winner that culminated in a World Series title in 2019. But what will it take to get them back to that level of financial commitment? And why aren’t they willing to do it now?
There are both baseball and business factors at play. On the business side, the MASN deal remains a disaster. The Nationals have been tangled in court with the Baltimore Orioles over the regional sports network deal since baseball returned to Washington 20 years ago. They’re back in court now, seeking affirmation of a decision awarding the team $320.49 million in rights fees for 2022-2026.
But even that money is lower than expected, with a 20% revenue drop in the final years of the deal, thanks to the decline of cable TV. MASN’s subscribers have fallen from 5.6 million in 2018 to just 3 million last year. That’s a hit.
And, until the money from that deal is on hand, it wasn’t just that the Lerners couldn’t afford to go after Juan Soto. They knew they couldn’t lay down a massive contract for any free agent.
So, the big question is: When the revenue finally comes in, will the Lerners be ready to reinvest it in payroll? When will the time be right?
Looking at the free-agent market this year, players like Pete Alonso, Alex Bregman, and Anthony Santander might have been options — but each comes with risks. In the case of first baseman Christian Walker or even pitching targets like Max Fried or Blake Snell, the price tags were too high, and the Nats aren’t ready to overpay for a non-impact player. Plus, parting with draft picks for complementary pieces is not in the cards at this stage of their rebuild.
And yet, for all the talk about their minor-league depth and a team that's "almost there," the Nationals are still entering the season with one of the lowest payrolls in MLB. Meanwhile, their division rivals — the Mets, Phillies, Braves, and even the Marlins — will all spend significantly more.
So, maybe the time to go big wasn’t this offseason. But at some point, the question will linger: When will it be?
