1. Jacob Young
Unfortunately, Jacob Young will not be a Washington National in 2026. The 25-year-old outfielder has a great amount of upside when it comes to being a strong defensive presence in center field for the Nationals, but his major downside is his bat. Young hit .231 on the season, mainly out of the nine slot for the Nationals, and continued to make the lineup due to his lockdown centerfield defense.
That’s not to say Young hurts the Nationals when he’s in the lineup, but the guys he is keeping out of the lineup could be more of a factor at the plate, such as Daylen Lile or Robert Hassell III. The Nationals could receive a decent package for a guy with high defensive upside and a lot of control from a team that could use more depth in their defensive outfield, but the Nationals are covered on that front.
2. Riley Adams
Washington has an interesting situation when it comes to the catching position, and any of the three catchers who have spent significant time behind the plate for the Nationals could end up being shipped off in the offseason. When it comes to the Nationals' catching room, Riley Adams almost feels like the easiest option for Washington to walk away from.
With the state of Keibert Ruiz’s contract, the Nationals would most likely not be able to trade him without eating a majority of his eight-year $50-million contract, of which the Nationals still have to pay at least five years of. And Drew Millas almost has too much control for the Nationals to move. With three years of team control and arbitration coming up, Adams seems like the best option for the Nationals to move on from among Washington's catchers.
3. Trey Lipscomb
When you think of the Nationals’ infield, chances are you don’t think of Trey Lipscomb, who played 61 games with the Nationals in a ‘Quad-A’ type role in 2024, and played just three games at the beginning of 2025. Lipscomb was mainly used as a buffer for injured infielders in 2024, playing 122 games with Triple-A Rochester, splitting time between third base and the outfield.
Unfortunately for Trey, Nasim Nuñez cemented himself as the Nationals’ buffer infielder at the end of the season, making it likely that the Nationals will try to flip Lipscomb for a pitching prospect or something of the sort. With the young infielder still having a ton of control (not reaching free agency till 2031), I feel like the Nats can flip him into a situation that would be much better for both parties.
While these may not be headline-grabbing trades, moving controllable depth pieces like Young, Adams, and Lipscomb could help the Nationals add pieces they may need, like pitching, and free up space for new young prospects to break through into the MLB scene.