Nationals set for another tough roster decision with Dylan Crews being activated

Good news, Dylan Crews is officially returning from the 60-day IL today. But it comes with bad news, as it will likely result in a demotion for a fellow young outfielder like Daylen Lile or Robert Hassell III.

I can't help but be reminded of the storyline I discussed last week: Should the Nationals have moved on from Nathaniel Lowe or Josh Bell? Not only would it have opened up a role for Andres Chaparro or Yohandy Morales; it would have also eliminated the situation the Nationals find themselves in now with their outfielders.

We've been told for multiple years that, even in a shallow farm system, the Nationals have a deep crop of young, talented outfielders. James Wood and Dylan Crews were obviously the leaders of the charge, although Jacob Young was the first to appear in the big leagues due to his elite defense and base running. Hassell was viewed favorably compared to Wood when the Nationals first acquired them from the Padres, and Lile's stock has continuously climbed over the last couple years, ultimately resulting in him leapfrogging Hassell in terms of prospect upside.

Even during the period that Crews was on the injured list, it was often a struggle to get all the young outfielders on the field together. Although Young has struggled at the plate this year, he has frequently started in center field anyway - again, due to elite defense and being the first to arrive in the majors. Hassell has generally been on the losing end, including extended time in Triple-A when it would've been justifiable to give him big league play time instead.

To their credit, the Nationals took an important step to shuffle the deck when they traded Alex Call to the Dodgers. Call had multiple years of club control left, and he could generally be relied on to have "professional" at bats, but Washington correctly recognized that his ceiling was limited. On top of being a bit older, Call didn't provide much defensively, he didn't have an impressive power profile, and he wasn't a base stealing threat. Speaking specifically about Hassell and Lile, they simply have more tools in the toolbox.

Even so, trading Call away wasn't enough. After all, there are only three starting outfield spots in the big leagues. Even if Young moves into a bench role, there are only three positions for the other four outfielders. In theory, one of them could fill in as the designated hitter, but that can't happen if the team feels Lowe and Bell need to stay in the lineup.

Here's what is increasingly confounding. Hassell and Lile are hitting extremely well this month. Admittedly, Bell has seen a lot of success recently, as well. The same cannot be said about Lowe, though - his grand slam on Wednesday notwithstanding. He's presumably more capable of playing first base than Bell is at this stage of his career, and his contract makes him difficult to bench or move on from. But in terms of productivity and the vision for the team moving forward, it's tough to justify keeping Lowe in the lineup right now.

If the return of Dylan Crews leads to bigger changes than we're all expecting, then we can all eat our words. But if this leads to another round of Lile or Hassell being sent down to Triple-A in favor of the veterans like Nathaniel Lowe, fans will likely lose considerable faith in the new regime in Washington.

What should the Nationals do now that Crews is returning? Let me know your thoughts @stephen_newman1 on X.

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