Two Washington Nationals Veterans Not Predicted To Be in Opening Day Lineup
In this story:
The Washington Nationals didn’t spend a ton of money during the offseason, but general manager Mike Rizzo did a solid job of addressing the needs that were most pressing.
Depth and experience were added to the pitching staff with Trevor Williams being re-signed, and Michael Soroka and Shinnosuke Ogasawara as options for the rotation. Kyle Finnegan was brought back along with Lucas Sims and Jorge Lopez to bolster the bullpen.
In the lineup, the Nationals were in need of some pop for their lineup since they lacked power but had plenty of speed. Like the pitching staff, it wouldn’t hurt to add some experience to the mix as well.
They accomplished those goals by acquiring Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers to take over at first base. Josh Bell, who played for the team in 2021 and 2022, is back for a second stint as designated hitter.
The only real question mark that remains is who will be starting at third base once Opening Day rolls around.
In the opinion of Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report, it will be Jose Tena manning the hot corner to start the regular season.
After being acquired from the Cleveland Guardians as part of the Lane Thomas deal ahead of last year’s trade deadline, Tena played in 41 games for Washington, making 164 plate appearances.
He had a .274/.305/.363 slash line with three home runs, five doubles and 15 RBI, stealing six bases as well. A hard-hit rate of 49.1% is incredibly impressive but it didn’t result in as much damage as one would expect.
In addition to his below-average offensive output, Tena was incredibly shaky in the field.
He committed nine errors in 87 chances with the Nationals, resulting in an ugly .897 fielding percentage.
Given his youth, his production could improve after a full offseason preparing for the job. That could be part of the reason why Washington goes with him as the starter, but his leash won’t be very long.
The Nationals have two veterans, Amed Rosario and Paul DeJong, who could fill at third base when needed.
Rosario looks like he is going to function as a sort of super-utility man, capable of filling in around the diamond. He recorded a respectable .280/.306/.380 slash line 24 extra-base hits and 13 stolen bases.
DeJong was surprisingly good defensively at third base in his first action there as a professional in 2024 after spending his career as a middle infielder.
His best contribution to the lineup would be his power, something they could certainly use more of. He hit 24 home runs last year and has a 162-game average of 26 in his career.
Alas, whoever takes over as the starter on Opening Day likely won’t be there for long as one of the team’s top prospects, Brady House, is widely expected to take over at the hot corner at some point in 2025.
