Back on December 12, 2023, Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo made a signing that would change the course of baseball in the Nation's Capital forever. Just kidding, but in all seriousness, Rizzo did in fact take a flier on a former #2 overall pick, seeing if he could potentially find another diamond in the rough, but alas, it was not to be.
On that day, the player that Rizzo brought in to the organization was none other than Nick Senzel. The infielder was a former top prospect of the Cincinnati Reds, who had selected him with the 2nd pick back in the 2016 MLB Draft, which was actually pretty abysmal at the top of draft, and included Nationals legend Carter Kieboom later on in the compensatory round between the 1st and 2nd rounds.
However, being drafted that high would pretty much be the highlight of Senzel's MLB career, as a -3.0 WAR has to be one of the lowest figures of all-time for a guy that was supposed to be a franchise cornerstone for the Reds. Despite accounting for -1.6 WAR with the Reds, the Nationals decided to take a chance on Senzel, as the club had yet to adequately fill the void at third base left by the 2023 deadline deal of Jeimer Candelario.
Unfortunately for the Nationals, what they got from Senzel was short of anything noteworthy whatsoever, and he would not even make it through the 2024 season with the club. His slash line of .209/.303/.359 and .663 OPS in 64 games are definitely not the worst numbers I have ever seen, but it became apparent that his presence was more of a burden on the team than they could handle. Oh, and his -0.7 WAR in those 64 games certainly didn't help his case either.
You might remember a dugout dust-up between Senzel and MacKenzie Gore, and although the two put it behind them quickly, it was foreshadowing the end of Senzel's tenure with the Nationals, as he was released not even a month later. After being released by the Nationals, he signed a minor league deal with what many would consider to be one of the worst teams ever assembled in the 2024 Chicago White Sox, but would only make it about a month on the Southside before being designated for assignment.
Fast forward to present-day, and it appears as if Senzel is going to get another opportunity to play professional baseball in 2025, but not at the big league level. Yesterday, he signed with Tecolotes de los Dos Laredos of the Mexican League, where he will attempt to continue his playing days for as long as possible. Surely, a return to MLB could potentially happen down the line, but you would have to imagine he would have to absolutely tear the cover off the baseball against lesser competition to even warrant being brought back to an organization.
Although his Nationals tenure was absolutely abysmal, I am rooting for Senzel, and hope that he is able to find some success and perhaps even get another chance at playing professionally in the states some day.
Are you rooting for Nick Senzel? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.