Once upon a time, Juan Soto was a rising star who won a World Series with the Washington Nationals in 2019. Since then, the Nationals have struggled, failing to achieve a winning record. Soto later moved on to play for the Padres and the Yankees. On Sunday night, he signed a massive 15-year, $765 million deal with the New York Mets, a division rival. The Nationals will now need to explore other options for their outfield.
Nationals Fail to bring Juan Soto Back to D.C.
It’s been a slow offseason for the Nationals in terms of free agency. Team owner Mark Lerner hasn’t been looking to spend money on big free agents. Even as fans hoped that Soto would return to the Nation’s Capital, the 26-year-old outfielder wanted the big bucks. Back in July 2022, Soto turned down 15 years, $440 million from Washington before getting traded to San Diego. Now he gets even more for the same amount of years with the NL East rival Mets.
The only big offseason moves the Nationals have made are non-tendering Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan, and declining Joey Gallo’s 2025 option. With the month of December already in session, Washington fans certainly expected more out of this ballclub with a net worth of $2 billion.
Nationals’ Current Options at Outfielder
The Nationals still have viable outfielders on the team. 2024 rookies Dylan Crews, James Wood, and Jacob Young made noise in Washington last season. Crews and Wood, both 22, were highly anticipated prospects who both made their major league debuts during the regular season. Both players should continue to make an impact in 2025. Young, 25, proved himself to be a hidden gem in 2024 with his stellar baserunning, finishing with 33 stolen bases. With Soto on the Mets, it’s looking like Crews, Wood, and Young will be the main outfield trio.
Washington also added Robert Hassell III to the 40-man roster last month. Hassell, 23, was one of the prospects involved in the Soto trade back in 2022. At the time, he was once considered one of the top 100 prospects in the MLB. However, his stock has fallen since the trade due to some uneven results as he has battled wrist injuries. Nevertheless, he is coming off a strong performance in the Arizona Fall League. Hassell should add some depth to the outfield trio of Crews, Wood, and Young in 2025.
Two other outfielders on the Nationals’ 40-man roster are Alex Call and Stone Garrett. Call, 30, has been with the organization since August 2022. He had a solid 2023 season hitting .200/.307/.307 with eight home runs, 38 RBI, and nine stolen bases. Call began the 2024 season in Triple-A Rochester but then made 30 major league appearances. Garrett, 29, missed a majority of last season due to suffering a fractured left fibula in August 2023. He made his long-awaited return on September 27.
Possible Free Agent Options Remaining
Even with Soto no longer in the picture, the Nationals have a variety of free-agent options for outfield positions. In left field, the top available choices include Jurickson Profar, Mark Canha, Austin Hays, Alex Verdugo, and Tommy Pham. For center field, free agents include Harrison Bader, former National Michael A. Taylor, and Garrett Hampson. Lastly, the available right fielders are Max Kepler, Jason Heyward, and Mike Tauchman.
Main Photo: © Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
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