Nats Chat

A special episode as Paul Toboni, Nationals President of Baseball Operations, joins the podcast for the 2nd time.  Before we get to that lengthy conversation, Mark & Al react to the news that Jacob Young signed a four-year extension over the weekend.

(12:00) Toboni answers our questions as he just completed his first season on the job.  Topics include his recent letter to the fans, CJ Abrams defensive position for 2027, fiscal approach to this off-season, prospects in the farm system, the future of "Openers", and of course... the bullpen.

(45:00) Al & Mark react to the interview with Toboni before wrapping up the show. 

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Tim Shovers with a very brief update on changes among the Nats 40-man roster in early November and closes with a nod to the World Series champion Milwaukee Brewers. 

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Nats Chat emerges from its October slumber to check-in as the World Series continues in Florida.  Mark & Al begin by thanking all the great listeners that attended our Podcast party a few weeks ago at Walter's.  

(03:00) According to USA Today, Mike Rizzo is under consideration for Houston's vacant GM job.  Rizzo has not taken a new job since getting fired last summer by the Nationals.

(12:00) Washington is retaining all of its coaches, but making changes among their training and strength staff.

(21:00) Daylen Lile has been named a Gold Glove finalist for NL left fielder's, which was very unexpected prior to Opening Day.

(27:00) The Lockout is expected to begin in early December and that could lead to a flurry of Free Agency activity across the sport in November.

(39:00) Earlier this month MLB proposed a 154 game regular season schedule as CBA negotiations are ramping up.  Real or performative move on MLB's part? 

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Tim gives a quick reminder about the end of season Podcast Party on Friday night October 2nd at Walter's Sports Bar in Navy Yard.

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The Nats ended the season on a high note with a 6-4 win over the Mets on Sunday afternoon.  Mark & Al gather after the Nationals 77th victory of the year; 11 more than in 2025.

(04:00) Mark relays the vibe in the clubhouse after game #162.

(08:00) "The focus in 2027 is winning".

(12:00) How should ownership view the 1.839M attendance this season?

(19:00) Washington stunningly ended up scoring the 3rd most runs in the sports this year.

(21:00) Andres Chaparro slugged a pair of homers in Sunday's victory. Chaparro ends his season with an impressive .894.

(24:00) CJ Abrams had a RBI triple in the season finale and cpncludes his season with 106 RBIs.  Will he be traded this offseason? Anthony Rendon holds the Nationals franchise record with 126 RBIs in 2019.

(29:00) DJ Herz made his 2nd start of the week and allowed four runs in just three innings of work.  Herz is expected to fight for a spot in the back-end of the rotation.

(31:00) The bullpen combined for six shutout innings and Erik Tolman closed it out. Al notes the bullpen's season-long ERA barely dropped below 5.00 after the scoreless top of the 9th.

(35:00) A discussion about Blake Butera's 1st coaching staff.

(41:00) What to expect within the organization in the next few months. 

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The Nats lost 7-1 on Saturday afternoon to the visiting Mets, but it a was successful game in the larger picture. Mark & Al leadoff with the news that James Wood was voted Player of the Year by the local media ahead of CJ Abrams.  Wood has fewer homers than Abrams, but does have a higher OPS.

(07:00) This game began at 12:35pm as opposed to its original 4pm start time due to impending weather.  This worked out on Saturday and Sunday's game has been moved by two hours earlier and will begin at 1:05pm.

(10:00) Connelly Early made his Nationals debut on Saturday as he tossed three scoreless frames in just 34 pitches.  Early was injured when Washington acquired him from Boston in late July in exchange for Curtis Mead.  Early has already been slated for the 2027 starting rotation.

(16:00) Jake Irvin relieved and ate some innings, but ultimately gave up two homers and five runs. Irvin ends the season with a 5.48 ERA and it is possible that he will be non-tendered in the offseason.

(25:00) Al points a telling yet under-the-radar stat regarding the bullpen.

(29:00) James Wood had a pair of hits with exit velocities above 100 MPH. Wood has on game left to avoid not hitting a homer in the final two months of the season.

(31:00) DJ Herz will get the start in Sunday's season finale vs. the Mets. 

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Friday was busy one at Nationals Park as it began with a Cade Cavalli press conference and ended with a 7-6 win over the Mets.  Mark & Al begin with Josiah Gray, who earned his first career save by holding off New York in the top of the 9th.  It was the first time that Gray took the mound in Navy Yard since April 4th, 2024.

(10:00) Blake Butera feels that if Washington had an average bullpen this season, then they would be preparing for the postseason.

(16:00) Paul Toboni addressed the media prior to the game and seemed to indicate that Andrew Alvarez will have a spot in the rotation next season.  Alvarez did not pitch well on Friday night as he allowed five runs in just under five innings of work. Alvarez's outing ended on a sour note as he gave up a pair of Mets homers in the top of the 5th.

(20:00) James Wood didn't homer, but he did reach base four times out of the leadoff spot. Wood's OPS is at .895 with two games remaining.

(24:00) CJ Abrams crushed a ball to deep RF, but the wind knocked it down and Abrams' lack of hustle out of the batter's box was under the spotlight as he ended up with just a single.  This is similar to an instance from the season's opening series in Wrigley Field.

(29:30) Dylan Crews homered for the 13th time this season and stole two bases in the victory.  

(32:00) Connelly Early will make his Nationals debut on Saturday afternoon (12:35pm start now!).  He is expected to pitch a few innings before handing the ball off to Jake Irvin.

(36:00) A recap of Cavalli's press conference filled with plenty of emotion after signing his four-year extension.  All of Cavalli's teammates attended to show their support for the right-hander. 

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The Nats took the series with a 4-2 victory on Wednesday afternoon in Detroit.  Mark (From Comerica Park) & Al examine the team wrapping upits road campaign with a winning road trip in St. Louis & Detroit.  Washington finished the season with a 38-43 record on the road as they had a stretch where they lost 21 of 23 away games this summer.

(6:00) It was a victorious Bullpen game that opened with Richard Lovelady on the mound.  Brad Lord had the most usage of any of the six relievers as he lasted 3.1 IP. Lord struck out a trio of Tigers on 49 pitches in what seems like his best role.

(10:00) Yovanny Cruz notched the save as he recorded the final four outs.  Cruz entered in an 8th inning jam and struck out Spencer Torkelson to keep the 3-run lad intact.

(18:00) YoYo Morales' 2-run homer in the top of the 6th put the Nats up 3-0. Morales has a .930 OPS in 43 at-bats this month in the majors. This leads to a discussion about his defensive options moving forward.  

(23:00) CJ Abrams' RBI single put Washington the board and was his 103rd RBI of the season.  Abrams got the start at 2B for the 2nd straight day in Detroit.

(27:00) Nasim Nuñez stole 2nd base to set the Nationals record and moments later swiped his 49th bag.  Nuñez broke the mark set a few seasons ago by CJ Abrams.

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The Nats topped the Tigers 3-1 on Tuesday night behind a pair of homers by CJ Abrams.  Mark (From Detroit) & Al begin with four rookie pitchers combining to preserve the victory despite not throwing one clean inning all evening.

(06:00) Riley Cornelio served as the Opener behind handing the ball off to Jackson Kent in the bottom of the 3rd. Cornelio's ERA in September is an impressive 1.84 in six appearances.

(8:00) Erik Tolman notched his 4th save of the season while striking out the side.  Jack Sinclair preceded Tolman and retired all four Tigers that he faced.

(14:00) Cade Cavalli won't pitch the rest of the season after reaching the 200K mark on Friday last week. Cavalli ends the season with a 3.02 ERA in just under 170 innings pitched.

(18:00) Abrams clobbered his 32nd & 33rd homers of the season and surpassed 100 RBIs for the first time in his career.  Blake Butera referred to Abrams as a superstar after the win.

(23:00) Abrams or James Wood for Nationals Player of the Year?

(27:00) Dylan Crews went 2 for 4 and stole two bases on Tuesday night.  Crews' OPS is at .662 with four games remaining. 

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The Nats lost 9-2 in Detroit on Monday night as we are in the final week of the season.  Al & Tim begin with DJ Herz, who struggled in his first Big League start since September 2024. Herz lasted four innings and allowed four Tigers runs in the process.  

(06:00) Herz had Tommy John surgery in April of 2025 and originally came to the organization in 2023 in exchange for Jeimer Candelario.

(10:00) Luis Perales had a nightmare outing as he gave up five runs in just two innings of work.  Perales has only made six appearances for Washington, but his ERA is at an alarming 11.45.  Tim takes the opportunity to revisit the trade last December where Perales was acquired from Boston in exchange for lefty starter Jake Bennett.

(16:00) Cole Henry was released in order to make room for Herz on the roster.  Henry showed flashes of success, but has not pitched well since coming off thoracic outlet syndrome surgery.  Henry made 11 appearances this season with the Nationals, but with a 7.90 ERA.

(20:00) YoYo Morales' 2-run pinch-hit homer was the only source of offense for Washington on Monday.  Morales has a small sample size at the plate, but an OPS of .973 nonetheless.

(26:00) James Wood committed a 1st inning error in LF that put Detroit up 2-0.  Wood struck out 3 times in the loss and his OPS is at .900 with five games remaining.

(30:00) AAA-Rochester, led by veteran Manager Matt LeCroy, qualified for the playoffs for the first time in over a decade. 

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