The Washington Nationals don’t have any scary contracts until 2026

The Washington Nationals enter the offseason with high hopes that they will continue to improve their team heading into 2025.

The Nationals have a really solid core of young talent led by a lot of good position players. In the infield, Washington has a strong middle of the diamond with CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr.

There is plenty of young talent in the outfield with Jacob Young, James Wood and Dylan Crews.

The Nationals have done a good job of building from within as they have shed many of their bad contracts and really don’t have any bad contracts left on the books until 2026.

Bleacher Report’s Zachary D. Rymer recently talked about teams with the scariest contracts in 2026, but luckily there weren’t any like that in Washington. The only contract mentioned was that of Keibert Ruiz, who makes about $6.3 million annually.

“Keibert Ruiz isn’t a big hitter, but he’s still a reasonably reliable everyday catcher. His average salary of $6.3 million is far from an insulting sum, especially given the significant resources available to Washington.”

If Ruiz ends up being the worst contract on the team in 2026, that’s a clear indication that Mike Rizzo has done a really good job in recent years. Patrick Corbin was a contract that defined the team for several seasons as he was nowhere near the pitcher he was when the Nationals signed him.

Fortunately, Washington also avoided handing its former All-Star third baseman Anthony Rendon a major contract that would have hurt the franchise in terms of salary.

As the Nationals head into the winter, they may have a lot of money to potentially spend this offseason on improving the team. Since there is already a lot of young talent in the majors, they could potentially look to invest at first base, third base, starting pitcher and possibly the bullpen.

Although it’s been a difficult few years for the franchise, the rebuild is starting to take shape. Even though Washington was recently rocked by the Corbin Treaty, they must not be afraid to spend heavily again in the near future.

If the Nationals make a few additions in free agency, they could easily become an 80-plus win team in 2025 as long as their young players continue to develop.