Chaparro was surprise late-season producer after trade with D-backs

PLAYER REVIEW: ANDRÉS CHAPARRO

Age on Opening Day 2025: 25

How acquired: Traded from Diamondbacks for Dylan Floro, July 2024

MLB service time: 49 days

2024 salary: $740,000

Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2028, free agent in 2031

2024 stats: 33 G, 132 PA, 121 AB, 12 R, 26 H, 12 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 1 SB, 1 CS, 7 BB, 24 SO, .215 AVG, .280 OBP, .413 SLG, .694 OPS, 95 OPS+, -1 DRS, 2 OAA, -0.1 bWAR, 0.1 fWAR

Quotable: “If you’ve seen him swing the bat, you can see this guy has big time power. He’s a corner bat that we thought the reward really outweighed the risk. He’s 25 years old, he’s got big pop and can drive in runs, and has been a really good minor league player that we think with a few tweaks can translate into the big league level.” – Mike Rizzo

2024 analysis: A career minor leaguer who spent seven seasons in the Yankees organization before joining the Diamondbacks a year ago, Andrés Chaparro produced strong offensive numbers pretty much everywhere he played. That included 26 doubles, 19 homers and 75 RBIs in only 95 games with Arizona’s Triple-A affiliate in Reno this season. And none of that earned him a promotion to the big leagues.

Then the Nationals came calling, seeking Chaparro from the D-backs in their trade deadline deal for reliever Dylan Floro. They sent him to Rochester to get his feet wet, but after slugging four homers in his first 10 games he finally got the call to make his major league debut in mid-August.

Chaparro made an immediate impact, belting three doubles in his Aug. 13 debut at Camden Yards, and batting .297 with an .810 OPS through his first 10 games. To nobody’s surprise, that production did decline once pitchers began to get a book on him, and over his final 23 games he batted a mere .179 with a .643 OPS, though he did launch the first four homers of his career.

By season’s end, Chaparro was getting regular playing time at either first base or designated hitter. He routinely hit third or fourth in the Nationals’ power-starved lineup. He did, however, miss the final week of September when he went on paternity leave.

2025 outlook: Of the four veterans the Nationals traded at the deadline, Floro always was expected to bring back the smallest return. Chaparro wasn’t considered one of Arizona’s top-30 prospects. And clearly, if either the Diamondbacks or Yankees believed he was big league material, either would’ve called him up at some point.

The Nats, though, saw something appealing in Chaparro. They believed his minor league numbers were legitimate, and he simply needed a chance to face major league pitching and prove his worth. What they wound up getting over the course of six weeks was encouraging enough to want to see more, though not necessarily enough to convince them he’s really part of the long-term plan.

Chaparro did mash lefties. In 45 plate appearances against them, he batted .300, slugged .600 and delivered a .978 OPS. And he actually showed he can hit breaking balls and offspeed pitches, slugging .692 on changeups, .667 on curveballs and .438 on sliders (albeit in a limited sample size). He’ll need to do better against fastballs (.369 slugging) to stick long-term in the majors.

In the field, Chaparro was probably a better first baseman than Juan Yepez, but nowhere near as smooth as Joey Gallo. He also played third base in the minors, but the Nationals didn’t seem eager to try him at the hot corner. With Yepez also under club control and fitting the exact same player profile, Chaparro probably will come to spring training battling for a part-time or bench role. It could boil down to which one of them performs better in Florida, with the winner making the roster and the loser heading to Rochester to begin the season.