Nationals Land Their Top International Free Agency Targets in Latest Pipeline Upgrade

The Washington Nationals have added more talent to their minor league pipeline.

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

No one quite knew what to expect out of the Washington Nationals this offseason.

After firing longtime executive Mike Rizzo in the midst of the 2025 campaign, there was a clear directive to go in a different direction when it came to the baseball operations side of things. That resulted in owner Mark Lerner and the rest of the decision makers to hire 35-year-old Paul Toboni to lead this front office going forward.

Due to his background in player development and based on the opening remarks he made about his vision for the franchise, there was a good indication that creating an improved minor league infrastructure would be at the top of the Nationals' to-do list.

That was on full display when Washington announced a camp for select minor league players heading into spring training this year. And on Thursday, even more attention was given to upgrading this pipeline when Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reported that the Nationals' four top international free agent targets all signed with the franchise.

The Nationals have also signed Dominican outfielders Angel Ramirez and Juan Duran ($1 million each), per source. Updated to correct that they’re both listed as primary outfielders, now.

This means they’ve agreed to terms with their four most expensive targets. https://t.co/kshW6iHwm1

— Spencer Nusbaum (@spencernusbaum_) January 15, 2026

The two main ones at the top of Washington's board were Samil Serrano and Isaias Suarez, both outfielders from the Dominican Republic who signed for $1.969 million and $1.9 million, respectively. The Nationals were planning on spending most of their international bonus money on those two players, and they got it done.

Additionally, Washington also signed Dominican outfielders Angel Ramirez and Juan Duran for $1 million each, securing their top four targets for this 2026 international class.

It should be pointed out that it's been known for a while who teams would sign during this cycle, as players and clubs around the league sometimes have agreements in place for years in advance despite many of these prospects being the age of 16 at the time of signing. However, until something actually gets officially done, nothing is truly guaranteed.

Scouting Samil Serrano and Isaias Suarez

Peter Aiken-Imagn Images

Because many of these players are so young when they sign, there isn't a whole lot of information on them. But MLB Pipeline is able to give a scouting snapshot for the top 50 players in each international class, and that provided some insight into Serrano and Suarez, who rank 26th and 40th, respectively.

At 6-foot-2, there isn't one trait or tool that stands out above the rest for Serrano at this moment. But the left-handed hitter is seen as having a "repeatable swing" by staying through the ball. When he gets older, he could become more of a power hitter, which is something the Nationals would probably love to see considering his size at the age of 17. Defensively, MLB Pipeline thinks he could be a center fielder, but he might also benefit from a move to a corner outfield spot at some point.

Suarez, on the other hand, is viewed as premium athlete. Already 6-foot-2 at 17 years old, as well, his twitch has allowed him to harness power through timing in the box with a powerful leg kick. In the field, he is seen as a surefire center fielder of the future based on his ability to run and cover ground.

These two international prospects are certainly the headliners for Washington in the 2026 class, and it will be interesting to see how they develop as the new front office regime continues their focus of upgrading the pipeline from the ground up.