The Washington Nationals are making Who’s on first base and Tomorrow’s on the pitcher’s mound as a sports Tragicomedy
This is no Abbott and Costello comedy when it comes to the Washington Nationals roster. And President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni, said last week in an interview by saying, “In NO WAY are we set going into West Palm.” Yesterday in another interview, he couldn’t even definitively say who was going to be his primary first baseman. After the trade of MacKenzie Gore who was last year’s Opening Day starting pitcher, that is now anyone’s best guess as to the starter on March 26 in Wrigley Field.
Here we are just 16-days from Spring Training camp opening up, and we can’t tell you who the Opening Day starting pitcher is, or for that matter, the closer, the catcher, the first baseman, the second baseman, and the configuration of the outfield. Maybe the only spot we could nail is Brady House at third base. Oh, and for now, CJ Abrams was declared by Toboni to be his shortstop -if- he is not traded.
Going back to the 2020 season, the Nationals have struggled to find a primary first baseman. In that timeframe, they have posted a poor +7.1 WAR at the position. By plan, Nathaniel Lowe was supposed to be the team’s answer for last year and this year. Unfortunately, Lowe struggled and the Nats cut him from the team in August and ate the remainder of his $10.3 million salary. That left a gaping hole for this year. Toboni mentioned Luis Garcia Jr. for first base as well as Andres Chaparro, and new acquisition, Abimelec Ortiz, from the Gore trade.
“… we have a number of different options [at first base]. Even off-roster options that are going to compete at first base as well. Who knows if we’re done? I frame it that way intentionally. But we’re going to be active in trade conversations, active on waivers, in minors and majors free agency from a first base perspective and roster perspective as well.”
— Toboni said in an interview on 106.7 Radio
Most think that Cade Cavalli, with his 11 career games, is a best guess to be the team’s Opening Day starter. We couldn’t even give you the 5-man rotation beyond guesses. Cavalli, Jake Irvin, and Foster Griffin seem to be three. There are plenty of candidates for the final two spots including Mitchell Parker, Andrew Alvarez, Brad Lord and Josiah Gray. But Toboni is clear that he is still looking at the acquisition market.
“We’re actively looking in that [starting pitcher] market. I think there’s a chance we can sign a player in the next week or two. We will see how the market evolves for these players.”
— Toboni said in an interview on 106.7 Radio
The roster is wide open. It’s anyone’s guess at this point, and it doesn’t even seem like Toboni has all the answers at this point on his roster.
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