Nationals Move on From Slugging Minor League First Baseman
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Entering the offseason, a clear area that needed to be addressed by the Washington Nationals was their first base situation.
Andres Chaparro, who only appeared in 34 big league games last year and 67 for his career, was the incumbent starter. There were some rumors that the front office might try to bolster the position with a notable free agent signing, but nothing came to fruition on that front. Instead, the Nationals gave themselves multiple options to evaluate during spring training by signing players to minor league deals throughout the winter.
One of those players was Matt Mervis, a former top prospect within the Chicago Cubs' pipeline who was looking for his next opportunity in the majors after he flamed out with the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks last year. But according to Bobby Blanco of MASN, Washington decided to release him after one game with Triple-A Rochester.
Nationals Loosen Their Logjam at First Base
Coming into camp, there was an outside shot that Mervis would win a roster spot. The new regime in place seems keen on keeping Luis Garcia Jr. at first base and starting him there whenever the team faces a right-handed pitcher. So that lowered the odds of the left-handed-hitting Mervis securing himself a place with the major league club.
Still, keeping someone within the organization who has 78 games of MLB experience is never a bad thing. And that's what the Nationals did when they reassigned him to the minors coming out of camp. But there is a major logjam at first base in Rochester, as Chaparro, Yohandy Morales and Abimelec Ortiz are all in Triple-A right now. With that in mind, it was easiest to part ways with Mervis
The front office seems to be high on what Ortiz can bring to the table in the present and future. And considering he's a left-handed hitter, that reduced the need to keep Mervis around.
Do Nationals Have Their Long-Term First Baseman in Their Organization?
If Garcia can find his 2024 form where he slashed .282/.318/.444 with 18 home runs and 70 RBIs while also continuing to improve defensively at the cold corner, then he could hold onto that spot for a bit. But it feels like he is a stopgap solution there until this regime finds their guy.
Whether that's Ortiz or not remains to be seen. He didn't have a good showing this spring, so it could take a bit for him to get called up to The Show. And when he arrives, it's anyone's guess as to how he might perform. Still, if anyone is the internal leader in the clubhouse when it comes to being the long-term answer at first base right now, it's the 24-year-old slugger.
Beyond Garcia and Ortiz, 12th-ranked prospect Ethan Petry makes the most sense if they want to convert him to a first baseman full-time going forward. He has monster power potential that has already been on display in his young career, but he is also more than just an all-or-nothing hitter.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered when it comes to this position. And it's going to take some time to figure out.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai