Offseason Position Discussion : OF

As much as the infield is a mess of question marks and prayers, the OF for the Nats at least has some sense to it.  Building over the past few years of trades and drafts the Nats OF in 2025 ended as something that the team would like to carry for several seasons. 

James Wood followed up his fine half-season rookie campaign with a full season of solid baseball, making the All-Star team with a great first half before a second half swoon and focus on his weak defense knocked his season down a bit. Dylan Crews got his first extended taste of the majors and disappointed in an injury riddled season at the plate but not quite to the point where they had to give up on him. That's different than great defender Jacob Young who after an acceptable 2024 at the plate was handed a spot only to swing his way out of it.  But that, and Crews injury, left the door open for Daylen Lile to play a lot and he responded knocking line drives all over the place in the second half of the year.  

In addition Robert Hassell got a decent amount of playing time too but didn't hit, and Alex Call DID hit but at 30 didn't feature into the Nats future plans and was sent over the the Dodgers in a late season trade.  

Presumed Plan : 

Wood, Crews, and Lile start in the outfield and play there unless they are so bad the Nats are forced to make a change. Young sticks around at 4/5 to play late game D. and Hassell/someone else rounds out the bench. 

Reasoning behind Presumed Plan : 

This is what the Nats had been planning for. A top notch super young OF.  It isn't the exact set of players they would have expected - Hassell would have likely been in here as a starter not Lile. But you stack quantity and quality to get to this point. All these guys need more time to show what they really are. The only question is whether the defense suffers too much in this configuration. But that's not something you let hold this back. You figure the bats first. 

My Take : 

There's no issue here. This is what should be done and what will be done.  

 

I do worry about the defense. For all of Young's poor hitting he could field and Crews and him could make up for Wood's lack of range. With him out, Crews could be a superior defender but it's hard to ask his range to cover for both corners playing poorly. So you'd really like to see Wood and or Lile become average defenders. 

 

There is a lot to like here but also things to worry about.  Wood does almost everything right but that swing and miss percentage is terrible. Good thing he's got a good eye but it feels like maybe baseball could exploit this.  Crews has a weird situation where he should be better but his actual stats have never matched what his fancy stats say. Now granted the fancy stats in the majors eventually slid down closer to his performance but there still seems to be a gap. You think the regular stats will come up but that's not guaranteed.  Lile on the other hand swings a slower bat but hits everything right. But that's only one half-season.  It CAN work in the majors it's just that it's uncommon. 

Still you take the average path and one guy exceeds expectations, one guy hits it, and the last one is under? You have one very good or great player, and one starter. You take that. 

 

As for the 4th/5th I don't really care. I think you need a solid defender and Young is that but so is Hassell if they want to go that route for a year. 

 

One last thing is that the D could cause Wood or Lile to end up at DH while Young/Hassell/etc end up as the 3rd OF but for now I think they get a chance to prove they can't do it.  

Offseason Position Discussion : 3B

 

Gore still here? Ok we can move forward with this.  

2024 was a mess for the Nats at 3B.  They thought Trey Lipscomb who had an intersting end to 2023 might step in or for some reason known only to them, that never-was and clear never-would-be Nick Senzel might hold it down. These failed leaving Ildermo Vargas and Jose Tena manning the hot corner at the end of that year and leaving 2025 up in the air. 

The Nats responded by signing way too old Paul DeJong and his non-existant bat to pair with probably nothing Jose Tena. DeJong could still field but couldn't hit and being old he got hurt. Tena was nothing and again the Nats were scrambling having Amed Rosario play there until he was traded and former top prospect, now prospect of mild interest, Brady House got his chance. House also didn't hit but fielded ok making a nice failure bookend to the season

Presumed Plan : 

House plays 3B and they sign some trash FA to back him up.  Why assume they'll try something differently

Reasoning behind Presumed Plan : 

Unlike Lipscomb and Tena, House, if not as touted as he once was, is still a real prospect. He really did handle AAA last year in over 60 games and the team wants a good long look at him in the majors. Since he can field this is a pretty easy call as he's not going to be a huge hole like an all-bat 3B might be if he doesn't get it at the plate. 

 

The Nats don't seem to be taking on any major money and hope that House is here the whole year so it makes sense 3B will be whoever they pick up for the 2B/3B or SS back-up roles. 

My Take : 

It's a better position than they've been in since signing actual "might be good" Candelario years back. House can play 3B and maybe he can hit. The fancy stats read as a guy who swings pretty well but hasn't acclimated to major league pitching yet, which is standard fare for call-ups so we really won't know until this year if the issues (not IDing pitches well at all is the big one - too few walks too many Ks, not quite squaring up) will clear up with time and experience. Clearly you let him play and see what happens. 

It'd be nice to have an actual guy who can play everyday back him up but this team isn't going to pay "everyday" money to a guy not playing everyday if they are rebuilding again. So whatever. If anything happens to House (or any of the IF) this path will lead to months of terrible ball with no upside and one can hope they understand that and are looking to put a decent product on the field for the new admin's first year but maybe not. Probably not. 

Argh, I don't want to go through this all again.  

Pining for the F(j)ords

The Nats don't have a lot of good pitchers.  Gore yes. Brad Lord probably and... uhhh Cavalli likely, Beeter looks good... uhhh Henry?   Anyway Ferrer was a young lefty (and MAN they do NOT have a lot of lefties) with good fancy stats that I also liked. But they sent him away to Seattle for a catcher, Harry Ford. 

So first what does this signal? Rebuild... probably 

Ferrer is only 25 with plenty of team control. Given the Nats lack of LH relief he's the type of guy you keep around. Ford is a prospect still and several years younger than Ferrer. He's more the type you are planning on the next 10 years, not the next 5. However I will say Ford is basically major league ready with the bat so it's not like he is going to spend the next couple years in AAA. 

But that also means he's pushing Ruiz and everyone else out (sorry Millas!) which again is very "rebuild" coded. 

 

Second is Harry Ford any good?  As a hitter yeah probably.  As a catcher... 

 As a hitter the guy has got a GREAT eye and the question is how good can the bat be and in what way. It seems like he could hit for power. It seems like he could hit for avearge. He's one of those "fast" catchers who will run well and steal bases early in their career. If it all comes together - unlikely but anything can happen -  super star! If one thing comes together - likely power - a solid player. If nothing does, still probably usable because of that eye. 

But this is all based around being behind the plate and there isn't a strong consensus if that will happen. He excels at parts of the game, fielding in front of the plate, strong arm, but lags behind in, you know, the CATCHER, parts of being a catcher. Still does that first part mean he could possibly move positions? Is this a Biggio situation where we see Ford at like 2B?  Hell the Nats also lack a 1B. 

I think they point is if he can hit - either for power or average or both (though again more likely power) then the Nats have a lot of options to find a place for him. Catcher if he can play it, 1B, DH, 2B if they want to move someone. If he can't hit - well you have to hope he gets better behind the plate because he can still have value as an average fielding catcher with a good eye. 

It's not a bad bet to take for the Nats as his ceiling is higher than Ferrer's but again it suggest the Nats are not going to worry about the next couple years. I think this may be the start of an exodus.  Let's see what the next 1-2 moves are though. 

Offseason Position Discussion : SS

It 2024 CJ Abrams flashed greatness, with a .295 7 homer April and hitting .373 / .464 / .663 in May earning him a trip to the All-Star Game and getting Nats fans excited about his potential. The only problem was... well... he might have been the worst fielding shortstop in baseball in years. 

The plan for 2025 was to start him at SS and hopefully watch him solidify his position as an MLB offensive star while playing some better defense.  This didn't quite happen. His 2025 at the plate mirrored his 2024 but with the highs and lows muted.  This left him above average at the plate but not close to stardom.  His fielding did improve but this just left him the worst fielding shortstop in baseball THIS year. Meanwhile Nasim Nunez flashed his incredible glove while putting up good enough offensive numbers leading Nats fans to wonder if a position shift is in order

Presumed Plan : 

Wide open but I'll say Abrams plays SS while Nunez enters super sub role. 

Reasoning behind Presumed Plan : 

Nunez only played 24 games last year to add to his 23 in 2024. With that little time in the majors and very middling minor league batting stats, it's fair to wonder if he could in fact hit in the majors despite a very short impressive run late last year. 

Since you can't rely on Nunez to not be TERRIBLE at the plate yet you have to hold onto Abrams and let him see if he can improve his fielding with the new regime. Another player with questionable motivation the new organization will likely want a crack at a guy with super star potential to see if they can unlock it. 

 

And like in 2B comments, there are bigger fish to fry than an overall league average position.  

My Take :   

I don't buy Nunez at the plate and won't until I see him for half a season so I'm not very enthused to shift Abrams off SS.  But I do admit the logic in it and Nunez has to get that half a season at the plate somehow? Super sub can do it but a set position would be better.  

Abrams can be special so it seems likely to me that the new organization will want their own long look at him.  To me that means at SS first, but it's quite possible they've seen enough there. He is REALLY bad by all measures. He has no instincts which matters so much at SS. I mean he's so bad that HE'S the one that should be playing first, not Garcia. So if there's a position change that's where I probably lean. 

And a position change could be in order. Or a trade! Abrams is arbitration eligible and a free agent after 2028.  This year could up his value a lot OR it could set it at something lower if he just repeats 2025. That's the gamble. 

The way I see it Abrams' situation will tell us a lot about the Nationals new organization as a whole.  Are they in true evaluation mode trying to get THEIR feel of these guys? (Abrams at SS again)  Are they trying to optimize now (Abrams at 1B or DH even?) while they figure out the next steps?  Or are they ready to tear down what's here and look beyond 2028 (trade of Abrams) 

Me I'd prefer the second "optimize now and figure out if it's worth going for something in the next few years" so I guess I'd want to see Abrams moved off SS for whatever position (1B, DH, 2B?, 3B?) they choose not to deal with in 2026 while looking at other stuff. 

Offseason Position Discussion : 2B

After a rebound in 2024 to good stats at the plate and in the field, the Nats 2nd base situation was well set.  Luis Garcia can play there so Luis Garcia will play there. Ideally he would have stepped up again in 2025 but the opposite happened and a slight regression knocked him back to basically average at the plate and 2024 turned out to be the unsurprisingly fluke with the glove. But at least it was something that passed the season without worry. That's something right? 

Presumed Plan : 

Luis Garcia plays second base. Some FA pick-up and/or Nunez back him up, similar to 2025. 

Reasoning behind Presumed Plan : 

Arguably every IF position but SS including catcher and both starting and relief pitching are bigger issues than what's going on at second base. There is no reason for the Nats to make a change for likely minimal gain.

What's going on at second is you have a guy who can hit sometimes and doesn't field very well and overall seems only mildly motivated to reach his potential. It's a recipe for a below average 2B that will remain below average but one that isn't forcing you to do anything. 

If Garcia was better you might try to deal him, but no one is going to give you much for a below average 2B. If Garcia was more expensive you might try to do something, but he's just hitting arbitration for the first time this year. 

My Take :   

There are some interesting ideas on what to do with Luis with Nunez having his hot finish and Abrams' inability to field SS holding down an otherwise good player. Moving Luis to first and Abrams to second so Nunez (an actual good fielder) might make sense.  A .252 / .289 / .412  16 homer line for a first baseman would probably put him at about the same 20-25 range he sits now.  The big difference is while at 2nd best he's about 3 wins worse than the 3rd or 4th best 2B despite being 15+ ranks below them, at 1B he'd likely be 4-5 wins worse.  Not THAT much worse but you'd probably HAVE to get that offensive improvement you'd hope to see. And we assume shifting two guys to easier positions would hide their glove issues but they are still playing new positions.  It's a gamble.  Might be worth it if the Nats commit to fixing the pitching in the off-season, but if not it's more shifting deck chairs.  

I think the general idea with Luis is you try to get his head focused on hitting and fielding better with the new regime, who he might gel with, and then you evaluate if you want to keep him around.  At only 26 next year there's still a chance he becomes a better player and I'm interested to see what another group can do with him, having seen Robles, a similar question mark, blossom in his limited time away from Rizzo and Davey. Plus a better 2B would likely get you more back than a 1B with the same stats. 

 Let Garcia keep being not a big problem and maybe he surprises.