Washington Nationals Will Give Juan Yepez Competition for Roster Spot
The Washington Nationals look to be set at several positions on their roster heading into the offseason.
Their outfield should be good for years to come with James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews playing left, center and right. Up the middle in the field, they have a strong duo with All-Star CJ Abrams at shortstop and Luis Garcia Jr. at second base.
Elsewhere on the infield, questions remain. First base is a position in desperate need of an upgrade after Joey Gallo and Joey Meneses failed to produce in 2024.
One player who could factor into the mix, as a platoon player at the very least, is Juan Yepez. He was signed as a minor league free agent ahead of the 2024 season after being released by the St. Louis Cardinals.
He had a very strong Spring Training with the Nationals, but it wasn’t enough for him to make the Opening Day roster. However, his hard work did catch the eye of manager Dave Martinez.
“The guy, he loves to play. You can see it. He wants to do really well, and he’s done well. The guys appreciate him because of how hard he plays the game. I told him when he didn’t make the team – he was a little disappointed – but I said: ‘You’ve got a chance to help us at some point this year,” Martinez said, via Mark Zuckerman of Masn.
When Meneses struggled and was demoted to Triple-A, it was Yepez who got the call to replace him. In the early going, it paid off well.
His slash line of .341/.390/.541 was very impressive. But, his production dipped considerably in August with a .217/.267/.337 slash line. With Gallo healthy and Andres Chaparro being added to the roster before the deadline, opportunities shrank for Yepez.
While he did get back on track in September, it is fair to question how secure his roster spot is for 2025. Meneses and Chaparro are a similar mold of player as Yepez and it is hard to imagine all three sticking around.
An addition is widely expected to be made at first base in free agency, which would complicate things even more. But, it could present a platoon opportunity, at least at designated hitter.
He got the job done against left-handed pitching with a .304/.356/.456 slash line. While he isn’t a big home run threat, he is more than capable of racking up doubles.
Still only 27 years old, maybe Washington can work with him to continue improving in the field. He has played both corner infield and outfield spots in the Major Leagues but with limited success.
Developing his glove work would definitely help improve his chances of making the roster, as his bat has shown it can play in the Big Leagues.
