Washington Nationals Could Be ‘Surprise’ Landing Spot for Former All-Star
The Washington Nationals have made some nice moves so far this offseason, but there is still a lot of work to do.
It was another rebuilding year for the Nationals in 2024. For the second consecutive year, Washington was only able to win 71 games. However, there were some positives with some of their bright young stars beginning to make an impact in the big leagues.
2024 saw the rise of CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. becoming All-Star caliber infielders. In their outfield, James Wood and Dylan Crews were both called up in the summer and got their feet wet in the big leagues.
While the lineup is shaping up to be a young and talented one, especially after the acquisition of Nathaniel Lowe this offseason, the team still has a lot of question marks in both the rotation and the bullpen.
If the Nationals are going to win more games, they will need their pitching to be better.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently spoke about potential landing spots for some of the best free agents available. He named the Washington Nationals as a potential surprise destination for closer Carlos Estevez.
“If they did make this happen, it'd be tough to say whether they view Estévez as their possible closer for the next 3-4 years or just a calculated investment in what could be a colossal trade chip at this year's deadline. Either way, we thought the Nationals would do something at least a little more splashy than trading for Nathaniel Lowe and signing a one-year deal with Michael Soroka. This could be their spot.”
It was a bit of a surprise to see Washington non-tender their All-Star closer from 2024, but Kyle Finnegan isn’t going to be in the future plans of the franchise.
Even though it was an All-Star season for the veteran right-hander, it wasn’t a very good season overall. In the second half of the campaign, he totaled an ERA over 5.00, likely contributing to the decision not to pay him.
However, letting him walk has resulted in a massive hole in the bullpen at closer. Adding a relief pitcher the quality of Estevez would help solve that problem.
In 2023, the right-hander was an All-Star with the Los Angeles Angels. Last season, he continued to pitch well with the Angels and was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies before the trade deadline.
While Estevez is an All-Star caliber relief pitcher, he is likely going to be getting a multi-year deal based off of what Tanner Scott received this winter from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
So far in free agency, the Nationals haven’t really done that, with Trevor Williams getting the most number of years at two.
Pursuing him certainly makes sense to help them improve in 2025, but it doesn’t seem to line up with their timeline of competing with the young core.
Overall, it isn’t impossible for them to pursue the former All-Star, but it would certainly be a bit of a surprise if they signed him.
