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.
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.
6 comments:
it's definitely House is 3B until he's not, the free agent options are brutal since they're not signing one of the top guys. I guess Nunez and Tena are the backups? I hope House can hit
hmm, Orelvis Martinez non-roster invite to spring training, he'd be more interesting to try than seeing more Tena or Chaparro
Harper nails this.
In a peak contention window, maybe you bring in a FA to make House force the issue, but there's simply no way this team spends money on that.
The plan is to hope on House and he probably has the whole year to show improvement.
Best bet would be to sign a third baseman who can play third base. House needs more time at AAA, judging by what we saw in 2025. If he demonstrates by mid-season that he could be better this time around in 2026, then you can trade the new acquisition midseason for prospects and maybe even get a comp pick. The fact is, we have no idea whether Brady House could be a major league third baseman. He is just a hope with a 50-50 chance at this point--- at best. If you sign a youngish veteran or trade for one, it gives you a piece of the puzzle going forward, if Brady does not make it. Regardless of any of that, Brady will only be 22 the first couple months of next season. So it is not essential that you play him in the majors right now. Let him rebuild his confidence and work on his deficiencies with the new development team.
I get that the predates-color-TV regime had to go. I just feel like a front office made entirely of teenagers will make a few big mistakes, and a lot of small ones, that simple experience would have fended off, and in 4 years of winning 70 games, we'll be right back here, but with Rocco Baldelli in charge.
...and meanwhile, Josh Bell will be back for his 6th one-year contract and will be paraded around as the "premier" free agent signing. "Why bother being any good at all if you can't win 90 games at league minimum?" This whole cycle happens 3 more times, Nats Park falls into disrepair, and the team moves back to Montreal where a new stadium awaits.
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