WASHINGTON — The Washington Nationals are relevant again.For diehards who were here through it all, that concept invites a weathered mix of heartache and hope. The Nationals are 39-36, and have not played this well since they won the World Series in 2019. Also …No one is left from that roster. Jerseys have been trashed and players have been DFA’d. And yet — thanks to stars (James Wood and CJ Abrams), burgeoning heroes (Curtis Mead and Keibert Ruiz) and new leaders (manager Blake Butera and president of baseball operations Paul Toboni) — if the season ended today, the Nationals would have a spot in the postseason.All the fans want is to feel something again. Are they ready to?On Tuesday night, during a comprehensive win over the Kansas City Royals in front of 25,053 paying customers, we asked a kid who was once held in Bryce Harper’s arms, a new fan who fawned over James Wood, a woman who just quit her job and six others whether they were ready to believe again.James Wood is rolling, can he maintain it through the second half?Derek VanRiper and Stephen J. NesbittFirst inning: Mac Harper, 11Over a decade ago, Bryce Harper cradled eight-month-old Mac Harper (no relation) in his arms. Around this time last year, that same child led “sell the team” chants from the first row in left field. On Tuesday, the sixth-grader scanned the field from that same seat and searched for a way to process these new feelings.He looked at lefty Foster Griffin, a player he had never heard of this winter, signed by a group of 30-somethings he had little faith in, and admitted he was wrong about everything. He then turned his attention to the rest of the roster, gazing out at MLB’s best offense, and smiled. If nothing else, he said, the sheer presence of those 13 batters “guarantees a good game.”Harper is not yet sold on what the Nats’ future holds. (Neither was Bryce in the winter of 2018.) He is a big fan of prospects Eli Willits and Gavin Fien, but wants the team to trade a couple of prospects away for a cheap starter and a “lockdown” reliever. And if the Nats trade the player on the back of his jersey, he isn’t afraid to reboot a “sell the team” chant in left field again.“Mark Lerner has money to spend, and he doesn’t really spend it,” said Harper, adjusting his CJ Abrams city connect jersey. “Which is not really what you’re supposed to do when you own a sports team.”Second inning: Thomas Hodginks, 23Those who watch the Nationals on the road this season speak about the team as if it has almost a mythological quality. Hodginks was raised in Washington but now lives in Chicago, where the Nationals won both of their series in March and April.There is something about watching a team that not only plays with joy, but gets the most out of every move. At first, Hodginks figured it might be a fluke. After a month, he realized, the new-look Nationals “might just be on to something with this new approach.” Ruiz and Jacob Young had an OPS under .600 last year. Both have revitalized their careers.To Hodginks, this feels like the roster of 2011 with the vibes of 2012. It feels like they’re on the precipice of something new. It feels as though every move, adjustment, swing and pitch has intention and purpose behind it, and therefore — regardless of the record — is worth watching.Third inning: Colin Scherer, 21With hope on the horizon early in 2025, Scherer decided to make an Instagram account dedicated to the Nationals. The timing was, perhaps, just a bit early.“It’s been hell the last couple years,” Scherer said. In 2022 and 2023, he checked out for the first time. The 2024 and 2025 campaigns brought a little hope and a lot of heartbreak. Fortunately, 2026 has brought 2,000 new followers and a new perspective on what it means to be a fan. On Tuesday, it brought him to his feet as Nasim Nuñez legged out a go-ahead triple. He doesn’t just want to root for former Rule 5 picks, though. He wants a salary floor, as both the players and owners have proposed for the next collective bargaining agreement. There’s no reason, in his mind, to believe that these owners will spend again — the team’s $96 million payroll is well short of the MLB owners’ proposal of a $171.2 million salary floor, as well as the players association’s proposal of a $150 million soft floor — so he wants the league to step in. If the team traded Abrams, he would hop right off the wagon, or would consider it.