Washington Nationals Predicted to Sign Former All-Star to Play Hot Corner
With Spring Training right around the corner for the Washington Nationals, they are certainly excited to get on the field and hopefully take a significant step forward in 2025.
For the last few years, there have been a lot of losses for the Nationals. They have been in a somewhat lengthy rebuild since they won the World Series in 2019, but the future is looking bright.
Washington has been able to stockpile high draft picks and hasn’t committed to signing free agents long-term, giving them spending flexibility in the future.
This offseason, the thought was they might start to look to make a splash in free agency. While they have been active in signing players, it has mostly been veterans on one-year deals.
After winning 71 games in the last two seasons, the Nationals will want to see an improvement in the win column. They will rely heavily on their young lineup to take a step forward. However, there is still one position that they might look to upgrade.
Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report recently predicted what the lineup for Washington could look like on Opening Day. He highlighted the addition of former All-Star Paul DeJong to help bridge the gap before top prospect Brady House is ready to be called up.
“The Nationals won't want to block top prospect Brady House at third base, so if they do pursue an upgrade over current projected starter José Tena, someone like Paul DeJong who can likely be had on a one-year deal makes the most sense.”
DeJong is an interesting name for them to potentially pursue, and the 31-year-old makes a lot of sense. With House hopefully being the future third baseman for the next decade, DeJong would be a good stopgap this season, potentially for either the entire campaign or until the summer when their top prospect is ready to get called up.
While he might not be an All-Star-caliber player anymore, he would be an upgrade for the team at the position, especially in the slugging category.
In 2024 with the Chicago White Sox and Kansas City Royals, DeJong totaled a .227 batting average, 24 home runs, and 64 RBI.
Considering the struggles of the Nationals to hit the ball out of the park in recent years, there's a chance the former All-Star could lead the team in home runs this season.
If DeJong would be willing to take a one-year deal, it makes a lot of sense for Washington to sign him.
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