One of the least eventful winters in Nationals history concludes today, spring officially commencing Wednesday when pitchers and catchers report to West Palm Beach, Fla., for their first workout of 2024.
This offseason saw precious little action from the Nats. They added only four players on major-league contracts, signing Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel and Dylan Floro for a combined $9.25 million and adding Nasim Nuñez (who has never played above Double-A) via the Rule 5 Draft. They didn’t make a single trade.
Even by recent Nationals standards, this was a dead winter.
But does that mean they’re done adding players? There were reasons all along to believe they might not be done. And then they did do something Monday evening, albeit on a minor-league deal.
Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez were pretty clear about their wish list back when the offseason began. Both specifically mentioned an experienced starting pitcher. Both specifically mentioned more power for their lineup.
Gallo did address the lack of power issue, but he alone isn’t going to turn the National League’s lowest home-run-hitting lineup into even a middle-of-the-pack group. Senzel fills an obvious need at third base, but it still felt like this team was missing another hitter.
The decision not to tender a contract to Dominic Smith in December created another hole in the lineup. In addition to a left fielder and a third baseman, the Nats now needed either a first baseman or a designated hitter.
To date, club officials have spoken about Joey Meneses as if he’ll be the primary first baseman, believing the 31-year-old should be a more productive hitter the more he plays the field. Limited mostly to DH duties last season while he dealt with a balky knee, he delivered a team-high 168 hits, 36 doubles and 89 RBIs but connected for only 13 homers. The hope is that he’ll add to that final number by a significant amount in 2024.
But if Meneses is at first base, with Gallo in left field most days, who would be the DH? The list of viable options looked thin, from Stone Garrett (who is attempting to come back from a broken leg and injured ankle) to No. 2 catcher Riley Adams to bench players Jake Alu, Ildemaro Vargas, Alex Call and Carter Kieboom.
There are, however, a number of still-unsigned free agents who could help either at first base or DH, most of them at affordable prices, including Brandon Belt, Ji Man Choi, Adam Duvall, Garrett Cooper, C.J. Cron, J.D. Martinez, Austin Meadows, Gio Urshela, Daniel Vogelbach, Joey Votto and Jesse Winker.
And wouldn’t you know it, they signed Winker on Monday night. The 30-year-old outfielder agreed to a minor-league contract with an invitation to big-league camp, a source familiar with the terms confirmed, but there’s ample reason to believe he’ll make the Opening Day roster if healthy.
Winker wasn’t healthy much last season. Playing for the Brewers, he appeared in only 61 games, batting a paltry .199 with one homer, 23 RBIs and a .567 OPS. Along the way, he dealt with injuries to his neck, back and leg, leading to a pair of lengthy IL stints.
That’s why Winker was still available in mid-February, and it’s why he had to settle for a minor-league deal. That said, he isn’t far removed from some highly productive seasons in the majors.
In five seasons with the Reds, Winker delivered a .288/.385/.504 slash line. As recently as 2021, he hit .305/.394/.556 with 32 doubles, 24 homes and 71 RBIs, earning his first career All-Star selection.
It’s probably too much to hope for the Nationals to get that kind of production this year, but if Winker continues to reach base at a high clip like he has his whole career and runs into a few homers along the way, he’ll help a lineup that needs all the help it can get. They could do a lot worse than a Winker/Garrett combo at the DH position.
There are plenty of unsigned starting pitchers as well, though the depth of quality there is perhaps not as great. Among the still-available arms who could represent upgrades: Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Mike Clevinger, Domingo Germán, Matthew Boyd, Michael Lorenzen, Hyun-Jin Ryu.
The addition of any of those starters would allow the Nats to bump Trevor Williams to a long-relief role, or at least provide insurance in case one of the other projected starters (MacKenzie Gore, Josiah Gray, Patrick Corbin, Jake Irvin) gets hurt.
It might feel unconventional to sign players of that consequence after camp has opened, but it wouldn’t be unprecedented. This offseason bore some resemblance to the winter of 2018-19, when scores of big-name players didn’t sign until February, including Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. And the Nationals have done it before, as well, signing Matt Wieters to a two-year deal after camp opened in 2017.
The way this winter went, they’d be foolish not to at least consider another move of significance after they convene in West Palm Beach.