Did Lipscomb miss his chance to show Nats he's a big leaguer?

PLAYER REVIEW: TREY LIPSCOMB

Age on Opening Day 2025: 24

How acquired: Third round pick, 2022 MLB Draft

MLB service time: 95 days

2024 salary: $740,000

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

2024 stats: 61 G, 211 PA, 190 AB, 20 R, 38 H, 3 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 11 SB, 2 CS, 16 BB, 40 SO, .200 AVG, .268 OBP, .232 SLG, .500 OPS, 45 OPS+, 3 DRS, -3 OAA, -0.1 bWAR, -0.8 fWAR

Quotable: “Obviously, it wasn’t the way I wanted things to go. But you live and you learn. And I think that’s one of those things I accomplished this year. I just want to use that going into the offseason. … It’s been a lot of ups and downs, but I’m just grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given. I feel like that’s what’s going to make me better as a person, not only on the field but off the field.” – Trey Lipscomb

2024 analysis: The Nationals were sky high on Trey Lipscomb this spring, so high they seriously considered putting him on the Opening Day roster after he batted .400 in the Grapefruit League while looking sharp defensively all around the infield. He wound up not making the club coming out of camp, but his initial stint in the minors was as short as it gets. When Nick Senzel fractured a finger during pregame drills prior to the March 29 opener, Lipscomb immediately got on a plane and reported to Cincinnati.

He wound up having a memorable first week in the majors, going 5-for-11 with a homer and several highlight-reel plays at third base. But his production cooled off, and when Senzel was ready to return within two weeks, Lipscomb was optioned to Triple-A. Once again, his time in Rochester was brief, because when Lane Thomas sprained his knee, it was Lipscomb who got the call to return only nine days following his demotion.

That set the tone for a literal up-and-down season. Lipscomb would be optioned down four times in six months and recalled five times. The back-and-forth travel wasn’t great for his development, and the Nationals would be the first to admit that. But Lipscomb didn’t exactly seize the opportunities he did get to play regularly in the big leagues. While he was sharp in the field, he never hit with any consistency and showed very little power potential as well after his hot opening week in April.

Lipscomb would’ve finished the year in the minors if not for CJ Abrams’ surprise disciplinary demotion, which opened the door for one final week of playing time in late September. By then, it was too late to make much of a new impression on the club, which had ample opportunity to see him play earlier in the season.

2025 outlook: Though he was never highly touted by official prospect rankings, Lipscomb was loved within the Nationals organization last winter and through the spring. There were some who legitimately thought he was ready to ascend to the majors and establish himself as a versatile utilityman. Defensively, he lived up to the billing. But offensively, there wasn’t a whole lot to get excited about.

Lipscomb didn’t hit the ball hard (average exit velocity: 86.5 percent) and he didn’t hit the ball in the air (63.8 percent ground ball rate, nearly 20 points higher than the MLB average). He was behind in the count in 41 percent of his plate appearances, and he struggled mightily against four-seam fastballs, batting an abysmal .087 against the pitch he saw more than any other. That simply won’t work in the long run.

There’s still plenty to like about Lipscomb’s defensive work at multiple positions. And given his lack of minor league experience and the way the Nationals yo-yoed him between D.C. and Rochester this year, it’s fair to think he might improve over time if given the opportunity to develop in a more traditional manner.

But Lipscomb may not have a whole lot of time to figure it out. The Nats already saw encouraging signs from Jose Tena and Nasim Nunez when they played this year, and Brady House is likely to debut sometime early in 2025. Lipscomb may have to put up big numbers again next spring and then at Rochester to merit another shot in the majors before someone else blocks him.