Nationals Insider: Nats Need to Address Corner Infield at Winter Meetings

The Washington Nationals must upgrade at the corner infield spots during the Winter Meetings that start this week in Dallas.

Oct 18, 2024; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso (20) singles during the eighth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game five of the NLCS for the 2024 MLB playoffs at Citi Field. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are heading into the Winter Meetings looking to improve their team this offseason. 

After another 71-win season, the Nationals are hoping to make a couple of good moves this offseason in order to expedite their rebuild. Over the last few years, Washington has done a really nice job developing their young talent. 

With players like James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams, and Luis Garcia Jr., the future is bright for the lineup of the Nationals. However, they do need some more help if they are going to take the next step forward. 

Jessica Camerato of MLB.com recently wrote about the biggest need for the Nationals heading into the Winter Meetings. She highlighted the need for help at the corners of their infield.

“The Nationals have vacancies to fill at first and third base. They declined their mutual option on veteran Joey Gallo at first base, where Andrés Chaparro and Juan Yepez will return to vie for playing time. At the hot corner, José Tena impressed after he was acquired at the Trade Deadline. With veteran utility player Ildemaro Vargas becoming a free agent, Tena likely will see more playing time. But the Nationals could pursue more experience at both positions, with veterans like Walker, Alonso and Bregman among the top free agents.”

Since Washington has prospects along with money to spend this offseason, they can certainly upgrade both first base and third base if they choose to. 

One of the tricky things when it comes to the Nationals, however, is how aggressive they will be this winter. The organization might not believe that the young core is ready to go in 2025, as they are still fairly inexperienced. 

At third base, Washington does have Brady House getting closer to being called up, as there is certainly a chance that they won’t make any major upgrades at that position with the hopes of House developing into a capable starter.

However, at first base, the need has been glaring for a couple of years now. This is a position that the Nationals really haven’t gotten good production from on offense, and that needs to change. 

There are a lot of good options in free agency that Washington can pursue, like Pete Alonso, Christian Walker, and Paul Goldschmidt. Any one of those three would be a big upgrade compared to what they currently have. 

As a now, the future looks bright for the Nationals. However, as they head into the Winter Meetings, they certainly could use some help at the corner infield spots.