Staggering Number of Nationals Minor League Players Have Become Free Agents
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The Washington Nationals' major league roster isn't the only thing Paul Toboni has to focus on during his first offseason in charge.
That's because a staggering 34 players in the Nationals' minor league system have opted to become free agents. According to Baseball America, who shared the full list of players who are now available, it's the highest across Major League Baseball.
- RHP Daison Acosta
- RHP Joan Adon
- RHP Wander Arias
- RHP Jose Atencio
- RHP Bryan Caceres
- RHP Hyun-il Choi
- RHP Greider Colina
- RHP Bryce Conley
- RHP Michael Cuevas
- RHP Parker Dunshee
- RHP Erick Mejia
- RHP Euri Montero
- RHP Johan Otanez
- RHP Adrian Sampson
- RHP Junior Santos
- RHP Chase Solesky
- RHP Samuel Vasquez
- LHP Garrett Davila
- LHP Kevin Dowdell
- LHP Tommy Kane
- LHP Lucas Knowles
- C Jose Colmenares
- C Francisco Mejia
- C CJ Stubbs
- 1B Joe Naranjo
- 1B Juan Yepez
- 2B JT Arruda
- SS Jackson Cluff
- SS Yoander Rivero
- OF Carlos De La Cruz
- OF Jeremy De La Rosa
- OF Delino Deshields Jr.
- OF Nick Schnell
- OF Donta Williams
Most Notable Departures
While that is a huge number of departures, that can also be expected when a new regime comes in.
When players aren't signed or drafted by the front office that takes over, then looking for opportunities elsewhere is something that happens often.
However, there were a few notable departures in there, and the first one that stood out is C.J. Stubbs. Called up for his major league debut this past season, he was excellent behind the plate and allowed starting pitcher Andrew Alvarez to shine in his own major league debut.
But right after that, Stubbs was sent back to Triple-A Rochester. So it's not a surprise to see him look for a new home, even if there are still question marks at the catcher position for Washington heading into next year.
The other two notables are Joan Adon and Juan Yepez. The former appeared like he was going to be a staple in this Nationals rotation for a while after he made the 2022 Opening Day roster. But he struggled mightily during his time in the majors and owns a career 6.66 ERA across 35 outings. As for Yepez, he performed well in 2024 at first base with a .283/.335/.429 slash line and 115 OPS+. But he didn't appear in a single MLB game this past season.
What This Means for Nationals
When it comes to the MLB picture, this doesn't mean a whole lot. While that is certainly a ton of departures that took place, virtually none of those players were expected to have prominent roles for the Nationals in 2026.
However, that doesn't mean Toboni doesn't have anything to do. It's important to field a Triple-A affiliate with big league talent, that way if players get hurt or they start regressing in their performance, there are multiple options the team can turn to in their pipeline. And as for the others across the different affiliate levels who are no longer with the organization, making sure there is young talent working their way up the farm system is also important.
How Toboni goes about backfilling these openings will be something to monitor this offseason, as he and his front office have to now focus on more than just bolstering the MLB roster.
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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