Washington Nationals Mentioned as Potential Trade Suitor for Brewers Slugger
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The Washington Nationals had a few clear needs to address at the end of the 2024 season.
Arguably the biggest need was for the infusion of some power. Ideally, it would come at first base, where the team received limited production from Joey Gallo, Joey Meneses and Juan Yepez.
General manager Mike Rizzo did a good job of addressing that need, acquiring Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers.
While his power numbers have dipped in recent years, he presents a massive upgrade for the team at the corner infield spot. He is also a Gold Glove winner, capable of providing excellent two-way play.
Joining him on the depth chart at first base is Josh Bell, who is going to handle most of the at-bats as the designated hitter. He focused solely on getting the most out of his bat, not having to worry about playing the field for the first time in his career.
Those two additions will certainly help, but it wouldn’t hurt the Nationals if they could bring in some more players who offer some pop.
One player to keep an eye on, in the opinion of Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report, is Rhys Hoskins of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The veteran was listed amongst the salary-dump candidates by the MLB writer and Washington was one of three teams mentioned as speculative suitors along with the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins.
Owed $18 million in 2025, the Brewers aren’t going to find a very robust market for Hoskins, who was a below-replacement-level producer in 2024 with a -0.2 WAR.
He did manage to hit 26 home runs with 82 RBI, both of which would have led the Nationals in 2024.
However, even with the salary cap space to add a contract of that size, it is hard to envision Washington making a move for Hoskins as he would be an awkward fit on the roster.
Lowe is entrenched as the starting first baseman, acquired in exchange for useful relief pitcher Robert Garcia.
The Nationals do have a battle for the fourth outfield spot going on at spring training, but Hoskins hasn’t played the outfield since 2018 with the Philadelphia Phillies and the results were not pretty.
He could serve as a platoon partner for Bell at designated hitter. Despite being a switch hitter, Bell has clear splits, as he hits right-handed pitching a lot better than left-handed. Hoskins could be the right-handed hitting part of the platoon.
But, $18 million is a lot to commit to a player who projects, at best, as a part-time player. Carrying another player who isn't going to offer much defensively along with Bell would be poor roster building as well.
Washington is better off keeping that money open to use on in-season additions should they be in the playoff race during the campaign.
