Washington Nationals news & notes: Rumors of interest in 1B & 3B + more Hot Stove talk…

Notes and quotes on the rumors flying around involving your Washington Nationals…

Asked late this past September if he now thought the Nationals were deep enough into their reboot/rebuild to justify doing some spending in free agency to supplement the talent they’ve assembled via trades, signings, and the draft over the last years, Washington’s manager Davey Martinez toed the company line to an extent but did offer his own opinion on where things stand for the club.

“I say this all the time,” Martinez explained over the final weekend of the 2024 campaign, “… we have many, many conversations when the year is over. For me, that’s something for [GM and President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo] and [the Nats’] ownership to decide. Yeah, I’d love to have a couple veteran guys, but give me 26 players, and we’ll do the best we can.

“I tell the coaching staff that every day, ‘No matter what, we got to get these guys to play hard every day,’ which we’ve done.

“But I will tell you this though, I really do believe that we’re close. We really are. And we got some pieces in there that are going to be really good.”

Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images

ESPN’s Jesse Rogers wrote this past week that there is a “… growing buzz in the industry that Washington will be active this offseason, and … [Rizzo] isn’t shying away from that kind of talk.”

Rogers writes that the Nationals, “are starting to see the fruits of their mini retool,” which began in 2021 and was kicked into high gear in 2022 when the club traded Juan Soto to San Diego for a haul of high-end prospects from the Padres’ system, a number of whom (CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, James Wood) are already up in the majors already contributing.

“I think it’s important to supplement that good, young group of players and surround them with some talent,” Rizzo told the ESPN reporter, if the club is going to compete in a tough division:

“We think our time is coming. We’re getting closer. This thing is cyclical. There was a time they were looking up at us, and now we’re looking up at them. We feel the time is coming that we can play in that end of the pool.”

If you are one of those people holding out hope for a return to D.C. for Soto in free agency, Rizzo did not dismiss the possibility, with Rogers writing that Rizzo, “… admits he has talked to Scott Boras about former Nat Soto (and other Boras clients).”

As far as a plan for the offseason, Rizzo said after the GM Meetings, which were held last week, they’ll have a better idea of their direction:

“When I get a feel for where we’re at after these meetings, we’ll meet with ownership and construct a plan.”

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote on Friday about the Nationals’ rumored interest in free agent first baseman Christian Walker, 33, who spend the last eight seasons in Arizona, with a 162-game average of 31 doubles and 29 home runs over that stretch. Walker finished the 2024 season with a .251/.335/.468 line, 26 doubles, and 26 homers in 130 games and 552 plate appearances, over which he was worth 3.0 fWAR.

Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images

“There are at least six teams who plan to aggressively pursue Walker,” Nightengale wrote, “… with everyone involved from the New York Yankees to the Diamondbacks to the Washington Nationals, believing he’ll come at less than half the price of [Pete] Alonso.”

ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel wrote recently about the Nationals’ interest in Alex Bregman, noting the Nats were, “a very widely rumored landing spot” for the third baseman. Bergman put a .260/.315/.453 line up in 2024, with 30 doubles and 26 homers for the Houston Astros in a total of 145 games and 634 PAs in a 4.1 fWAR campaign.

Where do you think the Nationals will turn if they do jump back into the high(er)-end free agent market? Will they find the bats they’re reportedly after this winter? How about their pitching needs?

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