What a wild turn of events the Victor Robles saga in Washington DC developed into over the last year. Signed as an international free agent in 2013, Robles quickly became one of the best prospects in the minor leagues, flashing all 5 tools with a ceiling to become a gold glover. Robles became a fan favorite before he even debuted in the Major Leagues, and expectations were through the roof for his career. As crazy as it sounds, his rookie year proved to be the peak of a rollercoaster career in DC.
Before Victor Robles, the Nationals were invested in Michael A Taylor as their centerfielder for the future. With the blossoming of Robles's minor league career and Juan Soto not in the picture, a Michael A Taylor, Bryce Harper, and Víctor Robles outfield was thought to become one of the best in the game.
Fast forward a few years later and Bryce Harper is now a first baseman for the Phillies, the young relatively unknown prospect by the name of Juan Soto has become a top 10 player in baseball and highest paid player ever, and outside of Michael A Taylor hitting a home run in the World Series, he struggled in part-time duties in Washington from 2019-2020. With this being said, Robles might have one of the more interesting stories.
Robles was signed by the Nationals as an international free agent in 2013 and he batted over .300 in his first two seasons in the minors. Robles became the top-ranked Nationals prospect in 2016, and he was a top-five prospect in all of Major League Baseball. Many people labeled the Nationals prospect a future superstar, and Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo liked him so much that he reportedly was unwilling to send Robles as a part of a package for Cy-Young winner Chris Sale, and former MVP Andrew McCutchen. With this high praise, Robles has a lot to live up to. He has been touted as a five-tool player and he is one of the fastest players in all of baseball.
Robles was called up in September of 2017 and played in 34 combined games with the Nationals in 2017 and 2018. In those 34 games, Victor batted .277 with a .843 OPS and 3 home runs. After Bryce Harper's departure, he became the clear-cut starting center fielder for the Washington Nationals heading into 2019. He was 22 years old and was about to become the center fielder for a contending team with Stephen Strasburg and Anthony Rendon set to become free agents after the conclusion of the 2019 season. He had some mental gaffes and puzzling plays in the outfield, but his overall numbers were solid. In 155 games he batted .255 with 17 home runs and a .745 OPS, with 28 steals which was 5th in the Major Leagues and he was second in the National League with 25 hit by pitches. He did not walk much but struck out a respectable 140 times in 155 games. He was very clutch for the Nationals and he hit a home run on two separate occasions in the 9th inning to tie the game up with two outs.
Random Nationals Highlight Day #12:
— Talkin Nats (@TalkinNats) January 3, 2023
Victor Robles Game Tying Home Run Saves the Day- 04/09/2019
Down 6-1 at one point, Victor Robles comes to the plate with the Nats down 6-5 in the 9th vs the Phillies. With 2 outs and 2 strikes, Robles’s homer led to a 10-6 comeback victory. pic.twitter.com/bcYwihaPii
As a 22-year old his numbers were very good, especially as a rookie. He matured as a player over the season and was a good player in the playoffs, but the strongest part regarding Víctor Robles is his glove. He led the Major Leagues with 25 defensive runs saved. Yes, 25. This means that he saved 25 runs over the course of the season. He also led all Major League center fielders with outfield assists at 12. He was a Gold Glove finalist and was robbed of the award by Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Lorenzo Cain. According to FWar, Robles was the 6th best center fielder in baseball at 3.7. Robles is an elite defender and elite baserunner, and everyone thought he would only get better with his bat. With his defensive and baserunning skills, anything he does offensively will only add to his extremely high value. He almost seemed to be underrated. Until the bad sides really started to flash their ugly heads.
In 2020, Robles went into the season noticeably bulked up to have more power, which resulted in poor defense and even worse hitting. In 2021 and 2022 he continued to struggle, with solid defense but nothing on the offensive side.
After another up-and-down year in 2023, Robles went into 2024 without a defined role. Robles was solid in 2023 but missed almost the whole season with a back injury. With so much frustration, Robles became the 4th outfielder, behind Eddie Rosario who was signed to a minor league contract a couple weeks before the season.
All in all, Robles played in parts of eight seasons with Washington from 2017-2024, playing in 530 games with 81 OPS+, 31 total home runs, and 70 steals.
Robles thrived in Seattle in 77 games after being released by Washington and earned himself a multi-year extension. So, who is to blame for Robles's failure in DC? It is easy to pin it on our dysfunctional organization, but there is blame to go around. The mental errors were too much to overcome, with his below-average production on the field.
I will always root for Victor, but I am glad he is gone.