Washington Nationals: Seven free agent second baseman to consider

One the Washington Nationals last remaining needs this offseason is going to be at second base. We look at seven possible free agent options for that spot.

Despite coming into the offseason not believing they needed an upgrade at second base, the Washington Nationals‘ tune has changed. Now they seem to be actively reaching out to second base free agents to see whether they will be worth bringing in.

At the start of the offseason, General Manager Mike Rizzo told the Washington Post that “We like our situation in the middle of the infield with Trea [Turner] and Howie and Difo and [Carter] Kieboom in the wings. We got [Luis] Garcia in the wings that we don’t feel is far away.”

But there have now been several reports of the team reaching out multiple times to multiple different free agents. So even if publicly the front office says they like where they’re at, they appear to at least be exhausting all possible avenues for an upgrade.

However, it may not be as simple as just going for the best available player for second base. As Rizzo says, the team has top prospect Carter Kieboom nearly major league ready and even the highly-rated Luis Garcia lurking a year or two away.

Therefore, the Nationals will probably be after an option who will either be just a one-year stopgap to their prospects or someone with the versatility to play multiple positions. Doing so means that there won’t be anyone blocking the team’s best prospects when they’re ready for the show.

However, in the here-and-now, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to have a short-term upgrade. Howie Kendrick and Wilmer Difo can both do a job, but they hardly move the needle for the offense.

So, let’s take a look at some of the players out there on the open market that the Nats could explore. The first player we look at in this list is the one that they’ve been connected in the most recent rumors.