The Washington Nationals have been extremely busy so far in the 2025-2026 offseason. The personnel moves have been pretty constant, with the team shipping off MacKenzie Gore for a large haul of prospects serving as easily the biggest move the organization has made since the Juan Soto trade back in 2022.
However, some of the most important moves a franchise can make are the ones that appear insignificant at the time, but could end up paying major dividends later on. Now, I am not necessarily saying that that same case applies here with one of the latest Nationals personnel moves, but it easily could.
The move I am talking about is the fact that the Nationals were able to sneak veteran backstop Riley Adams back into the organization through waivers without him being claimed after being DFA'd last week. This also makes sense as well, given that Adams is coming off the worst season of his professional career to this point, however, veteran catchers can be very valuable for organizations all around the league.
One of the interesting notes about the contract that Adams and the Nationals agreed to before he was waived was that if Adams spends time in the big leagues at any point in time this season, his salary will be bumped up to $1 million, whereas his base now for being in the minor leagues will earn him $500K.
Given how often catchers can have injuries that pop up, Adams might very well have the chance to earn playing time in the majors at some point this season for the Nationals, but he is clearly behind new acquisition Harry Ford, Keibert Ruiz, and Drew Millas on the organizational depth chart.
Given Adams' big league experience, it is relatively surprising that no other team wanted to take a chance on him even as depth or a third catcher for spring training, but nonetheless it is a very valuable thing for the Nationals to retain him in case a worse case scenario happens with either injuries or ineffectiveness by the catchers above him on the depth chart.
It will be interesting to see if Adams stays patient and remains in the minors for the entire 2026 season or if he eventually asks to be released to pursue opportunities elsewhere, but for now, it was a good thing overall for the franchise to keep him as a member of the organization.
What do you think of Riley Adams remaining in the Nationals' organization? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.