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Washington Nationals Free Agent Target: Brandon Moss

By Ricky Keeler

May 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss (37) hits a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Brandon Moss (37) hits a solo home run against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Would Brandon Moss be a good fit to add to the Washington Nationals bench in 2017?

One of the positions that the Washington Nationals didn’t get much production from in 2016 was first base. Due to Ryan Zimmerman’s struggles, the Nats first basemen had the lowest on-base percentage (.289), second lowest batting average (.232), and were ninth in home runs (23). First base isn’t a premium position in free agency this winter, but one name that can help the Nats is former Cardinal Brandon Moss.

As Mark Saxon of ESPN reported yesterday, Moss will not be getting a qualifying offer from the Cardinals, which means the Washington Nationals would not have to give up a draft pick to sign him. While Moss is not known for average, he is a hitter that can contribute with his power.

This past season, Moss had a slash line of .225/.300/.484 with 28 home runs and 67 RBI’s in 128 games. Moss has hit 19 or more home runs in each of the past five seasons, but he has had less than 80 RBI’s in three of those five years with Oakland, Cleveland, and St. Louis.

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Moss, who will be 34 next season, struggled in the second half in 2016. After the All-Star Break, he hit a mere .191 with 11 home runs and 27 RBI’s (eight of those home runs came in August). In September, he hit .084 (seven hits in 83 at-bats) and three of those seven hits were home runs.

One of the benefits of having Moss besides the power is his ability to play different positions. Not only could he backup Zimmerman at first base, but he played 21 games in right field and 58 games in left field this year.

While he has the position flexibility, his defense isn’t great. According to Fangraphs, Moss had -3 runs saved as a first baseman in 2016 (three run decrease from 2015) and he had three runs saved as an outfielder (five run increase from 2015).

Zimmerman should still be the starting first baseman going into 2017, but Moss could provide more depth off the bench should his contract value slip because of his poor second half. This season, the Washington Nationals had 12 pinch-hit home runs (third in the National League). St. Louis had 17 to lead the league and three of them came from Moss.

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Even though Clint Robinson has been a decent bench option for the Nats each of the last two seasons, Moss would bring more power to the roster than Robinson. This season, Dusty Baker found a way to utilize every player on the 25-man roster. If Moss were to sign with the Nats at a reasonable price, he can be a power bat off the bench who can start if Zimmerman goes down with an injury.

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