3 Washington Nationals who made Santa Claus’ naughty list

Ah, it’s that time of year again. The Christmas lights adorn the outside of the house and the stockings hang neatly on the inside of the house. Days are numbered before ‘Ol Jolly Saint Nick slides down that chimney to give presents to those who have been good. Unfortunately, there are a few Nationals players who deserve a lump of coal after their respective baseball seasons.

3 Nationals players who have made Santa Claus’ naughty list this year.

Victor Robles

Big Stick Vic, he was not. A year which started with fourteen games before his first RBI (and twenty more before the next), ended in Triple-A. The centerfield job was handed to Robles, as it should have been, and he did nothing to secure his name being penciled into the lineup on a nightly basis.

Robles hit .198 as the leadoff hitter, .164 in high leverage situations, and .198 in innings 7-9. If there was a key moment in the game, and Robles was at bat, good things were not going to happen for Nationals fans. He was one of the fastest runners on the team, yet his stolen base success rate was just 57%. Who can forget the time he was caught stealing second base in a one-run game, with none out and the tying run on third base? A comedy of errors is what summed up Robles’ season. Now, he enters 2022 in a competition for the starting centerfield job with Lane Thomas.

For that, Santa does not approve. Naughty list!

Patrick Corbin

Once this contract has come off the books will we be saying Patrick Corbin‘s first year with the Nationals justified the money on the deal? After a terrible 2020 season we were sure Corbin would rebound in 2021. We were wrong.

Corbin led all of baseball in earned runs allowed and losses, and gave up a National League worst 37 home runs. His SO/9 was at the lowest of his career, and he just couldn’t get people out. The good news is he was consistent. He made 31 starts. The bad news was, he was consistent, and made 31 starts.

Corbin surrendered three home runs in four separate starts, and who can forget the time he gave up ten runs in two innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks?

For that, Santa does not approve. Naughty list!

Davey Martinez and Sam Clay

Props to any Major League manager for overseeing a bullpen. This can not be an easy task. Mixing and matching, making sure you push all the right buttons. In the case of Sam Clay, manager Davey Martinez struggled to find a role for the first time big leaguer and ended up pushing a lot of the wrong buttons.

Clay is on the naughty list for his pitcher performance, Martinez, for continuing to send Clay to the mound. Clay struggled as a late inning pitcher, a setup man, and in middle relief. The Nationals lost the last ten games Clay appeared in on the year, and he gave up runs in four of them. His ERA was over five and a half and his WHIP was 1.71. The ground ball specialist failed to get ground balls on a regular basis and was overly wild at times.

So much stock was put into Sam Clay, however not many positive results came from his performances. Naughty list!