Washington Nationals: Predicting what their 12 free agents will do
By Drew Douglas
The Washington Nationals have had 12 players become free agents over the last few days. We take a look at each player and their future.
With the off-season underway, players with expiring contracts have now been declared free agents. When Major League Baseball released the list on Thursday, the Washington Nationals had 11 players declared free agents, which led the league.
A couple days later, the Nats declined Adam Lind‘s 2018 mutual option, making him their 12th and final free agent. While any of these players could potentially return, many of them will likely depart.
As of this writing, Matt Albers, Joe Blanton, Alejandro de Aza, Stephen Drew, Edwin Jackson, Howie Kendrick, Brandon Kintzler, Lind, Jose Lobaton, Oliver Perez, Ryan Raburn, and Jayson Werth are all free agents.
More Nats could also eventually hit the free agent market later this off-season if the Nats elect to non-tender any arbitration eligible players. However, no arbitration eligible players appear to be non-tender candidates.
The Nats also had one potential free agent decline free agency, as Matt Wieters exercised his 2018 option. Because of this, he will return next season and make $10.5 million.
While many believed Wieters would only be a Nat for one season when he signed the contract, him exercising his option did not come as a surprise, considering he had the worst season of his career in 2017. The $10.5 million he will make next season is likely much more than he could get on the open market.
The surprise dismissal of Dusty Baker and the hiring of Dave Martinez will likely be among the top storylines of the Nats’ off-season, but it will be interesting to keep an eye on how many of their free agents return in 2018.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Nats’ free agents.