Washington Nationals: 5 free agents they should consider

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Welington Castillo

If Lobaton departs in free agency, another great option to replace him is Welington Castillo. He spent 2017 with the Baltimore Orioles, and had the best season of his career.

The 30-year-old catcher owned a slash line of .282/.323/.490 to go with his 20 homers. Castillo is also a right-handed hitter, which could allow him to be a perfect platoon partner with Wieters.

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Wieters, a switch hitter, had slightly better stats as a left-handed hitter in 2017. If the Nats sign Castillo, he could play against lefties and Wieters could play against righties.

Castillo is also a fantastic defensive catcher. The Nats have typically struggled with allowing runners to steal a lot, but Castillo could be a great fix. In 2017, he had the best stolen base percentage in the league, throwing out 24 of 49 base stealers.

Wieters, on the other hand, allowed the second-most stolen bases in the National League in 2017. Part of the blame can be placed on the Nationals pitchers, but Wieters is widely regarded as a poor defensive catcher.

Finally, like seemingly every player in the league, Castillo is connected to the Nats because of a prior relationship with Martinez. He played for the Cubs from 2010-2015 and Martinez began his Cubs tenure in 2015. If Castillo enjoyed his time with Martinez, he may want to reunite with him in DC.

Next: A look at the post-Bryce Harper era

Now that free agency has begun, the Nats lost 12 players and have several holes. However, there are even more players available to fill those holes. If the Nats choose to address these needs through free agency, they should strongly consider Jake Arrieta, Alex Cobb, Pat Neshek, Alex Avila, and Welington Castillo.

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