This Is What a Contract Extension Could Look Like for Nationals Star Daylen Lile
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Recently, contract extensions have been all the rage across Major League Baseball. But the Washington Nationals have not locked up any of their young stars to long-term deals.
From James Wood to Daylen Lile to even Brady House, there are quite a few players on the big league roster who fans would love to see get secured for the long haul. That could still come at a later date once the front office settles in even further, but for now, the fact nothing has gotten done is cause for some concern.
What these possible extensions could look like in the future is something the organization will have to figure out. But in the meantime, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic (subscription required) took a swing at what Lile might get from the Nationals if both parties go down that route.
Seven-Year, $55 million Contract Could Get Things Done
"For the Nationals and Lile, a seven-year, $55 million deal could potentially work. That deal would cover the first two years of Lile's free agency at about $35 million total (or $17.5 million per year) with a $20 million club option at the end," the insider wrote.
Locking up Lile to that type of contract would be massive for Washington. During his short major league career, the 23-year-old appears like he's going to be an elite hitter for a long time in the bigs. With a fifth place NL Rooke of the Year finish to his name last season, the outfielder has a career .297/.344/.478 slash line and OPS+ of 131 through 102 career games.
Lile looks like a clear building block alongside Wood, so locking him into an extension for $55 million would go a long way for this cash-conscious franchise. It would allow the baseball operations team to keep a key player on this roster for years to come, which is important for roster building.
Why Nationals Ownership Could Push for Extensions to Get Done
From the baseball side of things, these extensions make a ton of sense. But they also are beneficial to owners across the MLB, especially those who don't like to hand out globs of money in free agency like Mark Lerner.
With that in mind, Lerner could actually green light plenty of long-term deals to be handed out by Paul Toboni and his front office if that's the direction they want to go. Because, according to Nusbaum, the CBA uncertainty is creating a desire for cost certainty.
"These deals have been particularly popular as of late, due in part to a potential work stoppage looming this offseason. ... And ownership groups crave cost certainty, with the collective bargaining agreement up on Dec. 1," he wrote.
All of that makes things even more interesting when looking at the Nationals and the potential for them to start locking up their own young stars with contract extensions. The last time they did so was with Keibert Ruiz in 2023, which has largely been a disaster. But with Wood, Lile and House looking like potential cornerstones, it would be wise for Toboni to start initiating these conversations.
Could something happen as early as this season? Only time will tell. But the good news is there are plenty of players Washington should have circled when it comes to inking long-term deals, which is not something that could have been said during the early stages of this rebuild.
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