Possible left-handed power bat options for Nationals

The Nationals haven’t made many notable acquisitions this offseason. They signed center reliever Dylan Floro and former prime prospect Nick Senzel to reasonably priced one-year pacts and plucked infielder Nasim Nuñez from the Marlins within the Rule 5 draft. It’s not all that shocking {that a} still-rebuilding Washington group coming off a 71-91 exhibiting hasn’t been aggressive, however GM Mike Rizzo advised on the winter conferences that the group was open to a multiyear free agent pickup “in the proper scenario” (link via Mark Zuckerman of MASNsports.com).

With all of $4.25M in free agent spending dedicated to Floro and Senzel, there ought to nonetheless be monetary room at Rizzo’s disposal. That doesn’t assure they’ll hand out any sort of important deal, notably with a scarcity of nice choices within the center tiers of free company. But it’d be a shock if the Nationals had been completed with their offseason exercise. One space the place some sort of addition appears seemingly: a left-handed bat.

Each the Speak Nats weblog and MLB.com’s Jessica Camerato advised in late December that Washington was trying to herald left-handed power. The Nats’ greatest lefty or switch-hitting bats — CJ Abrams, Keibert Ruiz, Luis García and Jake Alu — all have middling pop. Solely the Guardians had a decrease ISO (slugging minus batting common) towards right-handed pitching in 2023. Buying a lefty energy supply makes loads of sense.

It’s arduous to see Washington spending on the degree it’d take to land Cody Bellinger. Regardless that he’s younger sufficient to be a veteran cornerstone for a group that might extra realistically search to compete by 2025, the Nationals have a pair of prime center-field prospects in James Wood and Dylan Crews. They’re additionally nonetheless confronted with the MASN rights uncertainty and on the hook for important cash to Patrick Corbin, Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer’s deferrals within the quick time period. It’s most likely not the proper time for a top-of-the-market splash.

We’ll look a number of tiers down. The place would possibly that search lead Rizzo and Co.?

Free Company

• Brandon Belt: Belt, even going into his age-36 season, ought to command the loftiest assure of the gamers on this group. He’s coming off a really robust offensive exhibiting for the Blue Jays. He hit 19 homers and walked greater than 15% of the time he stepped to the plate, resulting in a .254/.369/.490 line by way of 404 plate appearances. Favorable matchups performed a job in that robust fee of manufacturing; Toronto restricted him to 39 PAs towards left-handed pitching. Washington might deploy him equally at designated hitter and/or first base, the place solely Joey Meneses (coming off a league-average offensive exhibiting) stands in the way in which.
• Joc Pederson: The Blue Jays are the one membership publicly tied to Pederson this winter. He’s coming off a middling season during which he hit .235/.348/.416 with 15 homers by way of 425 plate appearances for the Giants. That’s not enormous energy manufacturing at first look, however Pederson has 5 20+ homer seasons on his résumé (4 with at the least 25 lengthy balls). He made arduous contact — an exit velocity of at the least 95 MPH — on greater than half his batted balls final season, a top 15 rate within the majors. Pederson is a restricted participant. He’s greatest served as a DH and is generally restricted to dealing with right-handed pitching. He nonetheless has life within the bat, although, even when final yr’s outcomes had been underwhelming.
• Eddie Rosario: There hasn’t been any public chatter on Rosario for the reason that Braves declined a $9M choice in the beginning of the offseason. He ought to command a one-year deal at a wage that’s not too far under that fee. Rosario is coming off a fairly efficient yr. He hit 21 homers with a .255/.305/.450 slash line in 516 journeys to the plate. That was the fourth time in his profession that he surpassed 20 lengthy balls. Rosario is generally restricted to left subject however rated moderately properly with the glove final yr. His efficiency varies wildly inside seasons, however he tends to provide roughly league-average numbers by the top.
• Joey Gallo: Gallo hit 21 homers in simply 332 plate appearances a season in the past. The flaw in his recreation, enormous swing-and-miss charges, has solely magnified in latest seasons. Gallo hasn’t hit above the Mendoza line since 2019. He’s hitting .168 with a .290 on-base share in 742 plate appearances over the past two campaigns. There are quite a lot of uncompetitive at-bats. Few gamers match the profile of a “left-handed energy bat” fairly like Gallo, although.

Commerce Potentialities

It’s more durable to establish nice suits on the commerce market within the absence of many clear rebuilding groups. The Nationals might theoretically take an even bigger swing at a participant with an prolonged management window (e.g. Alec Burleson, Jesús Sánchez). That’s not a straightforward process to tug off, notably since Washington might be reluctant to half with important prospect expertise. There are a number of veteran bats who’d make some sense as speculative commerce candidates for a lesser return.

• Josh Bell: Bell had a productive stint over his yr and a half in Washington from 2021-22. He hit .278/.363/.483 in simply over 1000 plate appearances earlier than being included within the Juan Soto commerce. Bell has modified uniforms twice extra since that deadline blockbuster, signing with the Guardians earlier than being flipped to the Marlins final summer time. The switch-hitting first baseman struggled in Cleveland (.233/.318/.383) however typically turned issues round in South Florida (.270/.338/.480). That moderately robust end wasn’t sufficient for Bell to forego a $16.5M participant choice for the upcoming season. It stands to purpose the Fish can be blissful to get out from underneath the majority of that deal if the Nationals had been excited about a reunion.
• Seth Brown: A’s GM David Forst indicated at first of the offseason that he didn’t expect to commerce Brown. That’s presumably extra about Oakland feeling that different groups received’t meet their ask than a sign they wouldn’t contemplate provides on a 31-year-old platoon participant. Brown is a profession .237/.305/.471 hitter towards right-handed pitching. He can play first base or the nook outfield and is underneath arbitration management for 3 seasons. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz forecasts him for a $2.4M wage.
• Mike Yastrzemski: Yastrzemski is projected for a $7.3M wage in his second-to-last arbitration season. He hit 15 homers in 381 plate appearances a yr in the past, working a .233/.330/.445 line general. The Giants aren’t prone to urgently store Yastrzemski, however the singing of Jung Hoo Lee pushes him from heart subject to the nook reverse Michael Conforto. Buying and selling Mitch Haniger paved the way in which for a Lee, Conforto, Yastrzemski outfield supplemented by righty-hitting Austin Slater, however the Giants even have Luis Matos, Wade Meckler and Heliot Ramos as choices on the grass.

Minor League Deal Candidates

Every of those gamers has turned in above-average offense from the left facet of their careers. None hit free company underneath nice circumstances. Choi had an injury-plagued 2023 marketing campaign that stored him to 39 video games with out a lot manufacturing. The opposite 4 gamers had been both non-tendered or elected free company after an outright.

Meadows has missed many of the previous two seasons attending to nervousness; it’s unclear if he’ll be ready to return subsequent yr. Ford and Vogelbach are largely restricted to DH, whereas Walsh hasn’t been the identical since he was identified with thoracic outlet syndrome in 2022. None of those gamers are prone to be Washington’s prime acquisition, however they’d be viable depth targets if the Nats needed a second lefty bat on a minor league or low-cost MLB pact.