As we reach the halfway point of the 2019 season, the decision to bring back Matt Adams by the Washington Nationals looks like a great move.
The Washington Nationals were one of the most active teams in all of baseball last offseason.
Washington addressed starting pitching, with adding Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez, the catching spot, by adding Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes, and the bullpen by adding Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough…Yikes.
So far, most of the moves have panned out well for the Nationals, but one of their most underrated moves of the offseason was bringing back veteran first basemen Matt Adams.
In 2018 Adams was one of the best hitters for the Nationals before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in August. Adams hit for a line of .257/.332/.510 with 18 home runs, 48 runs batted in, and an .842 OPS.
Most importantly, when Adams was in the lineup, the Nationals were a much better team. In 2018 when Adams started, the Nationals were 43-28. That is 15 games above .500 and around a 90 win pace for an entire season.
After being brought back by Washington last offseason, Adams has continued to produce at the plate and make the Nationals a better team when he is on the field. Currently, the veteran first basemen is hitting for a line of .242/.273/.522 with 12 home runs and 35 runs batted in.
Despite having a low on-base percentage, Adams is hitting the ball for power, and the trend of when he is on the field the Nationals win more games has continued. This season in games that Adams starts Washington is 22-13. In games he has appeared in they are 31-27.
Adams clearly makes an impact for the Nationals when he is on the field, but with Ryan Zimmerman back in the fold we may see less of Adams then we did prior. Judging by statistics this would be a mistake, and with the way he has played Adams deserves to be the starting first basemen vs right-handed pitchers.
It wasn’t a splashy move, but brining back Matt Adams to D.C. is proving to be one of the Washington Nationals’ best offseason moves.