Kieboom got another chance, but was it his last?

PLAYER REVIEW: CARTER KIEBOOM

Age on Opening Day 2024: 26

How acquired: First-round pick, 2016 draft

MLB service time: 2 years, 167 days

2023 salary: $733,400

Contract status: Under club control, arbitration-eligible in 2025, free agent in 2028

2023 stats: 27 G, 94 PA, 87 AB, 12 R, 18 H, 2 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 0 SB, 0 CS, 6 BB, 27 SO, .207 AVG, .266 OBP, .368 SLG, .634 OPS, 74 OPS+, -1 DRS, -0.1 bWAR, -0.1 fWAR

Quotable: “I just told myself that, 'You worked so hard for this, and you worked so hard to come back, you have to enjoy it. No more pressure on yourself. Just have fun with the time left that you have.' That’s kind of where my head’s at right now.” – Carter Kieboom

2023 analysis: Once regarded the organization’s top position-player prospect, Kieboom’s stock steadily decreased as he struggled to seize the everyday third base job in both 2020 and 2021, then missed all of 2022 following Tommy John surgery on his elbow. He hoped he was finally healthy again and ready to go this spring, only to come down with shoulder inflammation, forcing him to open another season on the injured list.

By early May, Kieboom was ready to be activated off the IL and optioned to Triple-A Rochester. But barely one month later, he was back on the minor league IL with an oblique strain that sidelined him until August and all but took him off everyone’s radar altogether.

Kieboom’s season didn’t end there, though. He made it back from the oblique injury, and after eight solid games for Rochester, the Nationals finally called him up to the majors Aug. 20. And in his first major league plate appearance in nearly two years, he promptly homered. He homered again three days later, then did it again four days after that, thrusting himself back into a conversation that had seemed to leave him long ago.

The fairy tale return didn’t quite come to full fruition, though. Over his final 17 games, Kieboom reverted back into the hitter the Nats saw back in 2020-21, hitting just .184/.259/.265. He did, however, show legitimate improvement in the field, looking far more comfortable at third base than during any previous stint in the majors.

2024 outlook: Once they traded Jeimer Candelario to the Cubs at the end of July, the Nationals had no obvious replacement at third base the rest of the way. They gave Ildemaro Vargas plenty of playing time, and they gave Jake Alu some shots at the position as well, but ultimately they figured they had nothing to lose promoting Kieboom and giving him yet another chance to prove himself.

It felt like a final chance, though, for the once highly touted prospect. Kieboom was going to need to seize this opportunity in a way he hadn’t seized any of his previous ones. And though it briefly looked like he might actually do it with that fantastic opening week back in the bigs, it didn’t last. When the season ended, there was little reason to believe he had transformed himself as a hitter, even if he did show progress in the field.

What does that mean for 2024? Kieboom is still under club control, falling just short of arbitration eligibility. (League rules require at least 86 days spent on the active roster to qualify as a Super 2 player.) So his salary will remain under $1 million. The problem: He’ll be out of options for the first time, so the Nats can’t demote him to Rochester at the end of spring training without first passing him through waivers.

Would another team claim Kieboom at this stage of his career? You wouldn’t think there will be many takers. But would the Nationals still find value in keeping him at Triple-A, especially if top prospect Brady House is ready to take over at third base? The team still doesn’t have a short-term answer at the position, so it’s possible he’d somehow open next season as the starting third baseman and hold down the fort until House is ready. But given Mike Rizzo's and Davey Martinez’s stated objective to add power to their 2024 lineup, it’s hard to believe the Nats won’t go out and acquire a new third baseman this winter, with Kieboom’s time in the organization perhaps running out after seven frustrating years.