Each position lists its starter then backups by games (so platoons & bench show). Starters (mound) & bullpen (left, foul territory) are ranked by WAR; ★ marks the closer (most save chances). MLB Stats API.
2026 roster — value & surplus
Player
Age
Service
G
fWAR
Salary $M
Surplus $M
James Wood
23
pre-arb
104
6.4
0.8
+39.6
CJ Abrams
25
arb
100
5.2
4.2
+28.8
Cade Cavalli
27
pre-arb
22
4.2
0.9
+25.5
Foster Griffin
30
pre-arb
20
2.9
5.5
+12.5
Luis García Jr.
26
arb
96
2.6
6.9
+9.7
Curtis Mead
25
pre-arb
86
2.4
0.8
+14.3
Jacob Young
26
pre-arb
92
2.1
0.8
+12.2
Andrew Alvarez
27
pre-arb
14
2.0
0.6
+12.1
Keibert Ruiz
27
arb
67
2.0
5.4
+7.3
Nasim Nuñez
25
pre-arb
96
1.8
0.8
+10.3
Daylen Lile
23
pre-arb
102
1.4
0.8
+8.2
Joey Wiemer
27
pre-arb
32
1.2
0.2
+7.0
Jake Irvin
29
pre-arb
11
1.1
2.8
+3.9
Jorbit Vivas
25
pre-arb
76
0.8
0.8
+4.0
Dylan Crews
24
pre-arb
53
0.8
0.6
+4.2
Orlando Ribalta
28
pre-arb
32
0.6
0.7
+3.2
Andrés Chaparro
27
pre-arb
36
0.5
0.6
+2.6
Harry Ford
23
pre-arb
4
0.3
0.8
+1.3
Tom Cosgrove
30
–
5
0.3
–
–
Carson Palmquist
25
–
8
0.3
–
–
Brad Lord
26
pre-arb
27
0.2
0.8
+0.4
Zak Kent↔ MIN
28
pre-arb
8
0.1
0.0
+0.6
Eddy Yean
25
–
2
0.1
–
–
Paxton Schultz
28
pre-arb
25
0.1
0.8
-0.3
Abimelec Ortiz
24
–
1
0.1
0.8
-0.4
Jackson Rutledge
27
–
1
-0.0
0.0
-0.0
José Tena
25
pre-arb
77
-0.0
0.8
-1.0
Riley Cornelio
26
–
8
-0.0
0.0
-0.3
Julian Fernández
30
pre-arb
3
-0.1
0.0
-0.4
Drew Millas
28
pre-arb
50
-0.1
0.8
-1.4
Max Kranick
28
arb
3
-0.1
1.0
-1.8
Matt Krook↔ OAK
31
–
5
-0.2
–
–
PJ Poulin
29
pre-arb
35
-0.2
0.8
-2.1
Justin Lawrence↔ MIN
31
–
7
-0.3
0.2
-1.8
Brady House
23
pre-arb
44
-0.3
0.2
-2.0
Andre Granillo
26
pre-arb
8
-0.4
0.1
-2.4
Cionel Pérez↔ NYM
30
arb
16
-0.4
0.2
-2.8
Gus Varland
29
pre-arb
32
-0.5
0.8
-3.6
Cole Henry
26
pre-arb
11
-0.5
0.8
-3.9
Richard Lovelady↔ NYM
30
arb
27
-0.6
0.7
-4.2
Ken Waldichuk
28
pre-arb
5
-0.6
0.8
-4.7
Clayton Beeter
27
pre-arb
31
-0.7
0.8
-5.2
Mitchell Parker
26
pre-arb
22
-0.9
0.7
-6.1
Miles Mikolas
37
FA-elig
21
-1.0
2.2
-8.5
Zack Littell
30
FA-elig
21
-1.2
3.0
-10.5
Key additions (new vs 2025)
Player
fWAR
Foster Griffin
1.8
Curtis Mead
1.5
Joey Wiemer
0.7
Jorbit Vivas
0.5
Harry Ford
0.2
Tom Cosgrove
0.2
Key subtractions (gone from 2025)
Player
2025 fWAR
MacKenzie Gore
2.9
José A. Ferrer
1.4
Michael Soroka
1.2
Alex Call
0.8
Kyle Finnegan
0.6
Jorge López
0.3
Current & Historical Payroll
2026 payroll
$50.2M
luxury tax $51M
2027 guaranteed
$21.4M
What the front office was committed to as of 2026, 2026–2032.
Guaranteed $ are contract commitments signed by 2026; arbitration & free-agent years are projected from service time. Hover a figure for its luxury-tax (CBT) & actual-cash values.
current $guaranteed $arbitration (proj)pre-arb (proj)free agentclub optionplayer optionmutual optionvesting option
Summary — luxury-tax (CBT) basis
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
Tax threshold
$244M
$247M
$250M
$253M
$256M
$259M
$262M
Guaranteed contracts
$26M
$14M
$6M
$6M
$6M
$6M
Proj. arbitration
$7M
$1M
Proj. pre-arbitration
$18M
Player benefits
$18M
$18M
$18M
$18M
$18M
$18M
Total CBT payroll
$69M
$33M
$24M
$24M
$24M
$24M
Tax space
+$175M
+$214M
+$226M
+$229M
+$232M
+$235M
Est. tax bill
—
—
—
—
—
—
Luxury-tax (CBT) basis: contract AAV + ~$18M benefits/bonus-pool — distinct from the base-salary payroll above. Threshold is the CBA line. Tier-1 payor rates on the overage. Forward years show only guaranteed deals (arb/pre-arb not yet set). Figures are estimates.
Guaranteed / signed (4)
Player
Age
Svc
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
Keibert Ruiz
27
4.064
$5.4M
$5.4M
$7.4M
$9.4M
$9.4M
$12.0MCLUB
$14.0MCLUB
Zack Littell
30
6.043
$3.0M
$12.0MMUTUAL
FREE AGENT
Miles Mikolas
37
9.037
$2.2M
FREE AGENT
Cade Cavalli
27
2.141
$862k
$4.0MCLUB
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Arbitration-eligible (6)
Player
Age
Svc
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
Luis García Jr.
26
4.142
$6.9M
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
CJ Abrams
25
3.130
$4.2M
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Max Kranick
28
3.011
$1.0M
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Richard Lovelady
30
3.052
$718k
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Cionel Pérez
30
4.151
$236k
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Justin Lawrence
31
3.167
$232k
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Pre-arbitration (33)
Player
Age
Svc
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
Foster Griffin
30
1.034
$5.5M
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Jake Irvin
29
2.152
$2.8M
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Ken Waldichuk
28
2.150
$825k
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Harry Ford
23
0.028
$820k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
James Wood
23
1.091
$807k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Jacob Young
26
2.037
$794k
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Jorbit Vivas
25
0.056
$791k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Daylen Lile
23
0.120
$786k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Gus Varland
29
0.169
$785k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Clayton Beeter
27
0.129
$785k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Brad Lord
26
1.000
$785k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
José Tena
25
1.031
$784k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Cole Henry
26
0.169
$784k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Nasim Nuñez
25
1.086
$783k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Drew Millas
28
1.038
$783k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
PJ Poulin
29
0.055
$769k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Curtis Mead
25
1.094
$763k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Paxton Schultz
28
0.078
$752k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Mitchell Parker
26
2.000
$728k
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Orlando Ribalta
28
1.013
$662k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Andrés Chaparro
27
1.002
$603k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Dylan Crews
24
1.035
$574k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Andrew Alvarez
27
0.028
$567k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Joey Wiemer
27
1.089
$235k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Brady House
23
0.105
$235k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Andre Granillo
26
0.076
$96k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Zak Kent
28
0.037
$43k
Pre-Arb
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Julian Fernández
30
2.042
$18k
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Riley Cornelio
26
–
$4k
Jackson Rutledge
27
1.025
$4k
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Matt Krook
31
1.048
—
Pre-Arb
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Tom Cosgrove
30
2.085
—
ARB 1
ARB 2
ARB 3
FREE AGENT
Carson Palmquist
25
–
—
Graphs
Nationals's path through relative payroll × TAB, smoothed; markers grow and the arrow points toward the present. WINDOW cheap&winning · CONTEND expensive&winning · FORCED-SPEND dead zone · REBUILD cheap&losing. Compare franchises →
Every roster slot ranked best→worst by WAR. Bars = Nationals 2026; the black line = the league-average player at each slot that season. Staying above the line deep into the roster is the depth edge; dropping below it = holes & dead weight.
What each regime is worth — every settled team-season since 1985