The Washington Nationals have seemingly had a dire need at the first base position since Ryan Zimmerman retired a couple years back. While they have gotten some solid play and decent moments from Josh Bell during last season, times at the position as a whole have been dark.
While there were rumors floated around about Rhys Hoskins being a target for the Nationals in free agency, those ended up being false, leaving the Nationals with a few in-house options for the position. With that being said, who are the Nationals looking likely to start at first base come Opening Day?
Luis Garcia Jr.
This will be one of the more interesting storylines to follow during spring training, as it currently remains to be seen where Luis Garcia Jr. will get the bulk of his playing time. The Nationals need his bat in the lineup, but his defense at second base has been abysmal in his career outside of an outlier season in 2024. Should the Nationals choose to fully move Garcia to first base, it would set up an interesting discussion for the middle infield as to where guys like CJ Abrams, Nasim Nuñez, and Jose Tena would all slot in.
Abimelec Ortiz
One of the newest members of the Nationals, Abimelec Ortiz came over from the Rangers in the MacKenzie Gore deal. He has a ton of power, clubbing 25 homers last year between AA and AAA, while having a 33-homer season under his belt back in 2023 as well. From first-hand accounts, Ortiz' pop is legitimate, and he has a very good shot to break camp as the guy at first base.
Andrés Chaparro
One of the incumbent options already on the 40-man roster, Andrés Chaparro is trying to shed the dreaded '4A' player label. He demolishes minor league pitching, but thus far hasn't quite gotten his footing underneath him at the big league level. Perhaps better coaching can help coax his power out of him that just has not quite yet fully revealed itself in the majors.
Sleepers: Warming Bernabel, Matt Mervis, Yohandy Morales
The reality of this non-roster invitee trio is that they all face an uphill battle to be able to make the Opening Day roster. Warming Bernabel and Matt Mervis are young and young-ish, respectively, and there is a reason why they were let go by fellow underperforming organizations. They both have some intriguing upside if they can figure it out, but they likely seem headed for AAA Rochester to begin the season.
Yohandy Morales was once the Nationals' 2nd-round pick back in 2023 after Dylan Crews, but his professional career has not quite gotten off to the start he would have hoped. The good news for Morales is that his bat came alive later on in the 2025 season in the minors, and he carried that into offseason winter league ball, posting an OPS of 1.097 across 45 plate appearances there. However, he seems destined to begin the season with Rochester as well, as Ortiz is already on the 40-man roster, which helps his case.
Who do you think will emerge from the pack to be the Opening Day first baseman for the 2026 Washington Nationals? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.