3 High-Profile Players Connected to Nationals Have Become Free Agents

These three players who are now free agents would provide a huge boost for the Washington Nationals.

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The MLB offseason is now officially underway, and that means the Washington Nationals will get a better idea regarding who is going to be available for them to pursue in free agency.

How aggressive the organization will be isn't clear, but this appears to be a strong cycle since multiple high-profile players in their prime years are hitting the open market. So even if the Nationals don't shop in the premium aisle, the aim should still be to land some roster upgrades when it's all said and done.

The good news for Washington is that three notable players who have been connected to them at one point or another -- Alex Bregman, Pete Alonso and Ha-Seong Kim -- have decided to opt-out of their contracts to become free agents.

Pete Alonso

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This is the biggest name out of the three. The New York Mets slugger was expected to opt-out of his $24 million player option to become a free agent again, but Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported the news that Alonso officially made that a reality on Monday.

Alonso was mentioned as someone Washington could go after last offseason when he hit the open market. But following their decision to trade for Nathaniel Lowe, that went away. Now that he's available again, speculation about whether the Nationals could choose to solve their long-term situation at first base with the perennial 30-plus home run slugger will exist this winter.

On paper, the fit is great. He'd take over at first base and Washington wouldn't have to figure out if Yohandy Morales or any other up-and-coming prospect can actually play at the major league level. Alonso would provide an instant boost and help get this franchise back on track.

However, the expectation is that he's going to get paid this time around. And with Spotrac putting his market value at five years and $147 million for an AAV of $29.4 million, it's clear the Nationals will have to pony up if they want to land him.

Alex Bregman

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Last offseason, there was a loose connection between Bregman and Washington. There was speculation that they could look to bring him in since they weren't quite ready to hand the keys to third base over to Brady House. But that changed during the midpoint of the season.

With House now looking like the Opening Day starter at the hot corner despite some clear struggles he had this year, the clamoring for the Nationals to sign Bregman will be a bit more muted after The Boston Globe (subscription required) first reported he turned down the final two seasons worth $80 million that was on his deal.

Still, there's no doubt Bregman would be a massive upgrade over House. Even following a fairly quiet campaign that was limited due to a long-term hamstring injury, he slashed .273/.360/.462 with 18 home runs, 62 RBIs and an OPS+ that was 30 points above the league average of 100 in 114 games.

Washington has to hope House can turn into anything close to who Bregman has been throughout his career, but with Paul Toboni in charge, he's likely going to see what the youngster can do instead of spending something in the four-year, $110 million range for Bregman like Spotrac is projecting.

Ha-Seong Kim

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Some initial reporting before the offseason officially began indicated Kim was going to opt-out of his $16 million player option with the Atlanta Braves despite only appearing in 48 games this year after recovering from shoulder surgery. That was seen by some as a head-scratching decision, but Jon Heyman of The New York Post reported Kim made it official by turning down that player option to hit the open market once again.

He is the most realistic option for the Nationals out of this trio because he won't be a top-of-the-market player. While he'll likely be looking for a deal that makes up for turning down $16 million, he also seems to be searching for a long-term commitment of sorts.

And if Washington is starting to get a bit squeamish about keeping CJ Abrams as their full-time shortstop going forward, then signing Kim to take over that position while moving Abrams over to second base and Luis Garcia Jr. to first would solve a lot of their issues.

The Nationals will have plenty of options to choose from this offseason if they want to make a significant upgrade to their roster. And any of these players could be that for them.