Potential Washington Nationals Target Agrees To Deal With Los Angeles Angels
Third base continues to be a question mark for the Washington Nationals.
In an ideal world, their top prospect Brady House blows everyone away during spring camp and he takes over the starting role, fitting alongside the other young stars on their Major League roster so they can all gain valuable MLB experience together.
Whether that will happen remains to be seen.
If House still looks like he needs some work in the minors before he's called up to The Show, there are other options the Nationals can turn to, but none of them have the ceiling the 11th overall pick in the 2021 draft has.
Jose Tena, Amed Rosario and Trey Lipscomb all factor into the mix, so rolling out a combination of those three is something Washington seems comfortable doing.
However, there's a chance they can make a late waiver claim ahead of camp if someone gets unexpectedly designated for assignment, or they might even have the opportunity to sign someone who elects free agency after not making the Opening Day roster.
Someone floated as a possible option was Yoan Moncada.
The former top prospect of the Chicago White Sox looked like he was on a trajectory to become a star in the sport after his 2019 campaign saw him slash .315/.367/.548 with 25 homers, 79 RBI and an OPS+ of 140.
But he was never able to replicate that again, and recent injury history caused the White Sox to move on from him.
He could have a been a possible buy-low candidate for Washington, but if they were considering that move at all, he is now no longer available.
Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the slugger agreed to a $5 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels and will be added to their 40-man roster pending a physical.
It will be interesting to see if Moncada can have a bounce back showing after multiple disappointing years in a row, but for the Nationals, there is now one less option on the market they can turn to if they decide they aren't comfortable with their third base situation after all.
