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MLB Second-year outfielder James Wood earned his first All-Star nod in 2025. Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images The Washington Nationals have endured nothing but nightmare seasons since 2020. After winning the 2019 World Series and initiating a rebuild by sending Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres, the Nats have yet to secure a . 500 season. Last year, they finished two spots away from the bottom of the league standings, posting a 66-96 record. Advertisement Now under Paul Toboni, the plan has been mostly the same of “out with the old and in with the new. ” This time, that mantra spreads throughout the entirety of the clubhouse: a mass exodus of the scouting and development departments, trading away All-Star pitcher Mackenzie Gore for multiple prospects, and even hiring the youngest MLB manager in over half a century in 33-year-old Blake Butera. Fans of the team can only hope another round of audacious offseason moves will finally rouse the Nats back to winning ways. Whether the gadgets and gizmos at their spring training complex will lead to a breakthrough season or not, fans will be tuned in regardless. Tracking national games has only become more difficult, though, with regional games now being operated by team broadcasts through MLB. Fear not: We’re here to help.  Be sure to follow the Nats on The Athletic and beat writer Spencer Nusbaum this season. You can watch MLB games live on Fubo (Stream Free Now! ) all season. In a long-winded 162-game season, most of the Nats showings will not air on national TV. Instead, those games are moving from longtime home MASN to a new service called Nationals. TV, operated by MLB. If you have a satellite dish or cable box up and running, and that provider carries the new network, then you’re all set. If not, subscribing directly to Nationals. TV is a must. You can then stream through the MLB app. Dan Kolko, who has covered the team for years, is the new play-by-play voice following the retirement of veteran announcer Bob Carpenter. Former utility player Kevin Frandsen returns to provide analysis. What you need to watch: A provider with Nationals. TV, or a direct-to-consumer subscription through MLB. TV (starting at $19. 99/month). Fans looking for both the in-market Nationals. TV pass and the rest of the league’s out-of-market games can bundle on MLB. TV for $199. 99. Advertisement Now if you find yourself in a similar case to Kevin Durant — a die-hard Nats fan constantly on the move outside of the DMV — you’ll definitely need MLB. TV for Nationals broadcasts. MLB season ticket holders get an automatic MLB. TV login code, and T-Mobile customers get it for free through their cell service. Returning MLB. TV subscribers keep their plans through the league. But because ESPN is selling and running the package, all new sign-ups must come through ESPN Unlimited, with a one-month trial included for the newcomers. According to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, fans don’t need to keep the ESPN Unlimited plan to access the MLB. TV one, at least not for 2026. What you need to watch:  MLB. TV. It’s $134. 99 annually for ESPN Unlimited subscribers and $149. 99 for others. The national TV partners are sorted alphabetically below, with the main days for MLB action listed. Main days: Sunday for ABC, midweek for ESPN ESPN and MLB have been tied together since the 1990 season. The stalwart is no longer home to “Sunday Night Baseball, ” but its reworked agreement gives it 30 regular-season exclusives across the 2026 schedule. Over-the-air parent network ABC also has a trio of telecasts this year as part of the 30-game purchase. What you need to watch: ABC is free with an antenna. ABC and ESPN are included with most pay TV providers, and they’re also available with an ESPN Unlimited subscription (starting at $29. 99/month). Some pay TV providers, like Fubo and a few others, include ESPN Unlimited with their subscription.

Main day: Friday This is home to “Friday Night Baseball, ” which started in 2022. That weekly window is usually a doubleheader, free from local blackouts but exclusive to Apple TV. Wayne Randazzo calls games here with Dontrelle “D-Train” Willis. What you need to watch: An Apple TV subscription (starting at $12. 99/month). Advertisement Main days: Saturday for Fox, midweek or Saturday for FS1, All-Star Game There are 23 “Baseball Night in America” Saturday centerpieces lined up on Fox. The network airs two games at 7 p. m. ET and assigns markets by matchup relevance. Some Saturdays are doubleheaders with an FS1 game in the early afternoon. For example, the Nats will be facing off against the nearby Baltimore Orioles at 4 p. m. on May 16, which will precede a tantalizing Subway Series affair that will air on Fox. FS1 has an additional weekly spot falling on Mondays, Wednesdays or Thursdays. Fox and FS1 total more than 85 regular-season games this year. Come October, Fox has the NLDS and NLCS playoff series, plus the Fall Classic itself. Joe Davis has been on the World Series call since 2022, when he took over for longtime play-by-play voice Joe Buck. John Smoltz has been the color commentator since 2016. Fox’s World Series hold dates back to 2000 and runs through at least 2028. What you need to watch: Fox is free with an antenna. Fox and FS1 are included with most pay TV providers, and they also stream with a Fox One subscription (starting at $19. 99/month). Main days: Throughout the week

Here’s our backstop, unassuming but reliable. The “MLB Network Showcase” has been around since 2009. The network usually airs a couple of games each week. What you need to watch: A pay TV provider with MLB Network, typically included in standard or sports plans. MLB Network also streams with an MLB. TV subscription (starting at $134. 99/year). Main day: Sunday, Opening Day “Sunday Night Baseball” migrates from ESPN to NBC and Peacock, as the Universal network returns to live MLB coverage for the first time in 25 years. NBC, its streamer and the linear NBC Sports Network combine for 27 prime-time games and 34 afternoon ones in 2026. Some of the Sunday nighters are exclusive to Peacock. Advertisement NBC’s lineup launches with an Opening Day doubleheader on March 26 and concludes with the playoff wild-card series. To trumpet the return, the network has brought on some big names, including Bob Costas, Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto and Anthony Rizzo. Peacock usually has a live game in its “MLB Sunday Leadoff” spot, most of them with noon local starts. That includes the Nats’ road trip on May 10, when they will take on the Miami Marlins. What you need to watch: NBC is free with an antenna, but Peacock requires a subscription (starting at $10. 99/month for live sports). NBCSN is included in select pay TV providers. Main days: Opening Night, Home Run Derby, “Field of Dreams” Already venturing into live sports with NFL Christmas Day, Netflix has three MLB exclusives this season, starting with the 2026 opener on March 25. July 13 is the Home Run Derby, airing with All-Star festivities. Aug. 13 is the “Field of Dreams” game, a neutral-site showcase in Iowa with the Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins. The Netflix arrangement runs through 2028. What you need to watch: A Netflix subscription (starting at $7. 99/month). Main day: Tuesday TBS Tuesdays continue in 2026. The network’s play-by-play broadcasters are Brian Anderson and Alex Faust. The studio show features Pedro Martinez, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson. TBS also has this year’s ALDS and ALCS playoff rounds. What you need to watch: A pay TV provider with TBS, or an HBO Max subscription (starting at $10. 99/month). Watching in person? Get tickets on Stub Hub. *with the Montreal Expos, before the franchise moved to D. C. Streaming and ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply.  The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process, and do not review stories before publication. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Takashi Williams is a contributor for The Athletic. He specializes in tennis, along with the intersection between sports and politics. A Harlem native and graduate of Columbia University, he received an award for his senior thesis examining the presence of misogynoir on the professional tennis circuit.