While it has been over a year since Opening Day of 2024, the Washington Nationals have seen a lot of roster turnover since then. There are a decent amount of players that are still on the team, but also a lot of players and guys who were starters that are no longer with the organization.
In this article, I am going to take a look at a handful of former Nationals that I had already forgotten were on the Opening Day roster in 2024, and learning more about where they are now.
Joey Meneses
The first player I had already suppressed from my memory was Designated Hitter Joey Meneses. While nobody could ever forget his insane run following his first taste of big league action in 2022 after Juan Soto was traded, it remained a complete mystery as to what happened to his power.
After hitting 13 homers in 56 games in 2022, Meneses would only hit 16 homers across 230 games in the next 2 years after that. He was a pretty reliable source of RBIs, but was a liability defensively, and was more of a singles hitter, which is not something that you want from a first baseman/DH. He is currently in the Mets' organization with their AAA team.
Nick Senzel
Another National that I suppressed from my memory, Nick Senzel's tenure in DC was anything but notable. Outside of a series in Miami where he seemed like the hottest hitter on the planet, he was not fun to watch. He is now playing in the Mexican League, where he will hope to put up some big numbers in hope that he gets another shot at playing professionally stateside.
Victor Robles
This one hurts. As you might recall, Victor Robles was supposed to be everything that Juan Soto became, and was thought of as our version of Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., but he never lived up to his prospect billing in DC. He had a ton of talent, but couldn't seem to avoid the mental mistakes and errors that would cost the team more than once, and the organization finally had enough.
After being DFA'd, he would find his way over to the Seattle Mariners, where he became a very solid contributor for them last season, and ended up inking an extension with them last August. He is currently on the shelf after suffering an injury on an incredible catch earlier this season, but has done a great job of turning into a solid big leaguer for the Mariners.
Eddie Rosario
Oof. Outside of winning NL Player of the Week once during his time with the Nationals, his 2024 season in DC was absolutely awful. Rosario actually started in center field on Opening Day, and even hit the team's first homer of the season in that game as well. He signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in the offseason, and is currently on their AAA roster, hoping to earn one last shot at getting back to the big leagues.
Lane Thomas
Honestly, with the infusion of youth into the Nationals outfield, it's really easy to overlook Lane Thomas' steady presence in the team's outfield for parts of 4 seasons. He had a career year in 2023 when he hit 28 homers and drove in 86 runs while stealing 20 bags, but that season now seems like an outlier for his career.
After being traded to Cleveland last year for a package that returned highly-touted pitching prospect Alex Clemmey to DC, Thomas made himself a postseason legend with an electric homer in the ALDS last season. He has not been able to recapture that same form he had in 2023, but has still carved out a solid role as an everyday big leaguer.
Which of these Nationals did you forget about? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.