Veteran First Baseman Could Help Washington Nationals Contend Soon
The Washington Nationals have entered free agency looking to make some moves to improve a team that feels like they are on the cusp of breaking out of their rebuild.
Despite having five losing seasons in a row, the Nationals look like they are getting ready to finally burst out of their rebuild soon. There is a lot of young talent on this team, with a bunch of prospects in the lineup with a lot of potential.
Players like James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, and Luis Garcia Jr. are all establishing themselves as the next core of the team. While there is a lot of talent in the lineup, there are still some needs to improve.
Currently, there are three spots that Washington could logically look to upgrade this offseason, with first base, third base, and designated hitter all in need of some upgrading.
Arguably, the biggest need is at first base, with the team lacking production on the offensive side of things at the position since trading Josh Bell.
This offseason, there are a couple of different options at first base that could make a lot of sense. Recently, Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report wrote about the Nationals as a potential landing spot for the veteran first baseman, Christian Walker.
“If the Nationals view themselves as ready to spend and contend in 2025, first base is very much a position of need, as it has been for a few years. But spending to upgrade the rotation and going more of a Josh Bell or Carlos Santana route at first, arguably, makes way more sense for them.”
How much Washington is going to be willing to spend this offseason is a great question and one that can only be answered when the Nats open their checkbook. Currently, the Nationals have one of the lowest payrolls in baseball, and that should change.
This offseason, Washington had the contract of Patrick Corbin come off the books, which freed up a lot of money that they could reallocate.
While the Nationals and general manager Mike Rizzo have done a good job acquiring and developing young talent, they have also been very mindful not to hand out long-term deals of late.
The lack of spending in recent years has created the flexibility to let Washington strike in free agency when they deem fit. A player like Walker would be able to come in right away and be in the middle of order with power and play gold glove caliber defense at first base.
If not for his age, the slugger would have arguably been the best free agent available at the position.
While it’s still uncertain about how much the Nationals will spend this offseason, Walker would be a great player for them to target.
