keeping two long-time roster staples in first baseman Pete Alonso and closer . Alonso has already said he will be declining his $24MM player option for 2026 in order to re-enter free agency, and Diaz is widely expected to test the market as well by declining his player options for the 2026-27 seasons (as per the terms of Diaz's deal, he must exercise or decline both options at once).
Washington currently has $6.95 million in cap space to work with after signing trade acquisitions Justin Sourdif and Declan Chisholm (though pending RFA Hendrix Lapierre has yet to ink a contract).