The Nationals Roster in transition

This is a team in transition, no doubt about it.  Pending the result of today’s game against the Phillies, the Nationals will finish with either 71 or 72 wins.  While it would be nice to have a better season record this year compared to 2023, in many ways it is an irrelevant comparison.  Simply put, this is a different team than last year’s team; it’s even a different team than the one we started with this year.  Though some of it doesn’t show up in these starting lineups, the depth in the minors, both in terms of quality and quantity, is greatly improved over recent years.  

2023 began with an outfield of Call-Robles-Thomas.  While there’s a soft place in all of our hearts for all three of those guys for different reasons, today’s outfield of Wood-Young-Crews is undeniably better, both now and for the next 10 years.  Our current outfielders both have clearly demonstrated talent, but also significant room for additional growth, which will make them doubly exciting to watch in 2025.  Imagine a 2025 stat line from the starting outfielders as follows:

James Wood - .270, 25 2B, 20 HR, 85 RBI, 30 SB, 90 R (roughly doubling his 80-game numbers from this year)

Jacob Young - .260, 30 2B, 5 HR, 50 RBI, 40 SB, 90 R (slight improvement over this year’s nearly full-season numbers)

Dylan Crews - .250, 25 2B, 20 HR, 50 RBI, 60 SB, 60 R (basically multiplying his 31 games’ stats by 5, plus an improvement to his batting average)

An outfield that hits 40-50 HR collectively may not strike fear into opponents, but 130 SB plus gold glove caliber defense from at least Young and Crews…the whole package is pretty scary.  

The loss of Winker and Thomas this year is not insignificant, but the return they brought upon being traded can’t be underestimated.  Tena has been a pleasant surprise (more on him in a minute), but Tena was the third piece of that puzzle to begin with.  Alex Clemmey and Rafael Ramirez Jr are both Top-20 prospects for us that could be key in our excellence come 2026-2030.  

The current state of the infield inspires less confidence, but still is an improvement overall compared to last year, if for no other reason than options and depth.  Luis Garcia is a small step of improvement away from becoming a bona fide major-league star.  Not a lot of 2B that hit .300, with 20+ HRs these days.  His defense has more room for growth, but is improving. Put a good spin on the CJ situation, and hope for a more consistent season next year, and it’s reasonable to see a good outcome there.  

Third base and first base continue to be unsettled.  Gallo ultimately hasn’t been any improvement over Dominic Smith, but both were really no more than placeholders.  Yepez and Chaparro are both… interesting, but hard to just pencil in as an everyday starter.  Neither are exceptional defensively, and neither project to bring 30+ HR power.  The challenge here is that there isn’t necessarily a young prospect knocking on the door.  Yohandy Morales is a promising option, but probably not for Opening Day 2025.  This is a logical place for a free-agent signing this offseason.  

At 3B, Tena has proven to be a highly capable batter, but his spotty defense makes it hard to be excited about him as the everyday 3B while we wait for Brady House.  If House has a strong spring, and it’s only a matter of a month or two next season before he gets called up, Tena is a viable option.  Ultimately, Tena is an intriguing low-cost option at DH, maybe as a platoon with Stone Garrett.

In summary, this team has achieved the same number of wins as last year (far exceeding projections) while giving young players playing time and strengthening the farm system.