Washington Nationals Agree to Contracts, Avoid Arbitration With Franchise Mainstays
The Washington Nationals have agreed to one-year contracts for the 2024 season with center fielder Victor Robles and relief pitcher Tanner Rainey, MASN Sports' Mark Zuckerman first reported Tuesday.
In doing so, the club avoided salary arbitration with two of their longest-tenured players.
Robles made $2.33 million this past season, compared to Rainey's $1.5 million salary, but figures have not been released for their new deals as of Tuesday evening. Rainey has one year of arbitration eligibility remaining, while Robles is slated to become a free agent next offseason.
Robles has been on the Nationals' roster longer than anyone else, debuting back in 2017. Rainey first joined the club via a trade with the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, which is the same year that Patrick Corbin and Carter Kieboom debuted as well.
Corbin, Robles and Rainey are the only remnants of the Nationals' 2019 World Series squad. The team has finished dead last in the NL East every season since they won the title.
Robles only appeared in 36 games in 2023 due to spasms in his lumbar spine. Before he went down, the 26-year-old Dominican outfielder was enjoying a bounceback season of sorts with a .299 batting average and .750 OPS.
Across his prior three seasons, Robles hit .216 with a .597 OPS, all while still seeing the field in over three-quarters of the Nationals' regular season games.
Rainey also struggled with injuries this year, as the 30-year-old hurler was still making his way back from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in the summer of 2022.
The right-hander had one disastrous season with Washington in 2021, posting a 7.39 ERA and 1.705 WHIP in 38 appearances, but he has otherwise been effective during his time in the nation's capitol. Excluding his one down year, Rainey has a 3.43 ERA, 1.264 WHIP, 12.9 strikeouts per nine innings and a 1.8 WAR across his four other seasons with the Nationals.
Reliever Kyle Finnegan, outfielder Lane Thomas, utility man Ildemaro Vargas, relief pitcher Hunter Harvey and middle infielder Luis García are the other Nationals players who are arbitration eligible this offseason. First baseman Dominic Smith was on that list as well, but Washington designated the veteran for assignment Tuesday in order to protect a few of its top prospects ahead of the Rule 5 Draft.
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