Let’s assume for a few hours that general manager Mike Rizzo is finished adding starting position players to his Washington Nationals roster. That would give us an opportunity to project a lineup.
Catcher
We still believe that the switch-hitting Keibert Ruiz will be the starting catcher. His backup is most likely Riley Adams, and certainly Drew Millas will try to show in Spring Training that he deserves to be the backup catcher. On OPS, Adams and Millas nearly tied, so it comes down to defense and other tools. Millas stole four bases, and certainly has the speed game on his side. Still too close to tell, and you would think the team will go with Adams based on contract status with Ruiz as the starter.
First Base
The Nationals acquired Nathaniel Lowe in a trade in December as the starter. His backup might be Josh Bell who was discussed as the primary DH at the Hot Stove event. Or the team could use Juan Yepez or Andres Chaparro as a bench bat and part-time DH and first baseman. Both players spent time at first base in 2024, but neither were above average defensively.
Second Base
Last season, Luis Garcia Jr. won the second base job, and really has no competition to dethrone him at this point. He was one of the bright spots of the 2024 season. In fact, Garcia might be an extension candidate as we discussed this week after Garcia changed agencies to MAS+ from Boras.
Expect that the newly signed free agent, Amed Rosario, will be the right-handed complement to give Garcia some days off. Prior to Rosario’s free agent signing, Nasim Nunez could have been the utility infielder. Rosario now is almost a lock to make the roster. Rosario’s arrival will also spell bad news for Darren Baker who was seeded after Nunez.
Shortstop
We can only make assumptions at this point that CJ Abrams is the starting shortstop with Rosario as his backup. In the final week of the season, Abrams was demoted to Triple-A due to off-the-field issues per our sourced reports at the time.
During the 2024 season, Abrams was picked as the Nats’ All-Star, and had a terrific offensive first half of the season. His second half of the season was marred by a poor final 56-games of this season batting a sub-Mendoza .191 batting average with a .575 OPS, and his defense was terrible the entire season with the worst OAA defense in all of the Major Leagues at -17.0.
Abrams’ poor defense had cost his team 13-runs per the statistic. Imagine a shortstop that the Nats are facing in Dansby Swanson who has saved 12 runs for his team — that is a +25 runs saved differential from Abrams’ output. That is nearly one run for every game in a month. So yes, the Nats already had a real issue with Abrams on the field. Many times, the Abrams defense looked like a lack of effort going after balls and poor form. Abrams defense declined from last year when he was a -9.0 fielder. So why did he get that much worse?
Third Base
As of now, you might think Jose Tena is the starter at third base with Rosario and Trey Lipscomb competing for the spot in Spring Training. This is the black hole spot right now for the Nationals. Top position prospect, Brady House, has been the heir apparent but he turned in a checkered season in the minor leagues where he would be hot then cold, and was chasing pitches that he was missing by a large margin in some ugly swing and miss. House will have to show improvement in the minor leagues to earn a 40-man roster spot and a midseason call-up.
The Nats really needed to upgrade third base as manager Dave Martinez specified as an offseason goal. Tena had a hot bat after his call-up to the Nats until his final five games of the 2024 season, when he finished at a disappointing 0-for-20. Couple that with his poor defense, and you have to hope that Rizzo has a solution.
After the 2019 season, third base has been a revolving door when they handed the position to rookies and journeymen. Beginning in 2020, the third base position cumulatively posted a -0.9 WAR when you remove the positive production from Jeimer Candelario‘s four months on the Nats in the 2023 season. Even if you left Candelario in those numbers, the Nats cumulatively were a +2.1 with all third baseman which is the worst in all of baseball in that time span of five years.
Outfield
The bright spot might be in the outfield which looks set with James Wood in left field, Jacob Young in center field, and Dylan Crews in right field. The defense should be tremendous with Crews winning the Minor League Gold Glove, and Young as a finalist for the MLB Gold Glove for center fielders. Wood has a glove that improved in September, and really his only issue was not being aggressive enough coming in on balls towards the infield. On offense, Wood put up some very good numbers after his callup on July 1, and Crews had an acclimation period where he had to adjust to how MLB pitchers were getting him out.
For the backups, Alex Call looks like the fourth outfielder, and Stone Garrett could certainly factor in here if he can impress in Spring Training. Top prospect Robert Hassell III was added to the 40-man roster, and his strong showing at the Arizona Fall League will make Hassell an intriguing piece for a mid-season call-up if he rakes.
Designated Hitter
As mentioned, the team basically named Bell as the primary DH. If there is a backup, that list is long with Chaparro, Yepez, Tena, and Garrett.
LINEUP PROJECTION
- 1. CJ Abrams SS LH
- 2. Dylan Crews RF RH
- 3. James Wood LF LH
- 4. Josh Bell DH SH
- 5. Nathaniel Lowe 1B LH
- 6. Keibert Ruiz C SH
- 7. Luis Garcia Jr. 2B LH
- 8. Jose Tena 3B LH
- 9. Jacob Young CF RH
BENCH
- 1. Riley Adams C RH
- 2. Alex Call OF RH
- 3. Amed Rosario IF/OF RH
- 4. Andres Chaparro 1B/3B RH
That is what we believe the 2025 Nats’ position player roster looks like as of now. Tomorrow we will look into the pitching roster.
