This past season was one full of ups and downs for the Washington Nationals. On the one hand, there was some tremendous growth from players like Luis Garcia Jr. and young starters like DJ Herz, Jake Irvin, and even MacKenzie Gore to some extent. On the other hand, this team still had a mix of ineffective veterans who had fans counting down the days until they would be out of a Nationals uniform.
As free agency approaches day by day while the MLB Postseason rolls on, us Nats fans can only imagine what sort of moves the Nationals will look to make. But before we think about adding external free agents, what current Nats are slated for free agency? Let's take a look.
OF/1B Joey Gallo
We will go ahead and start out with 1 player who almost certainly will not be back in a Nationals uniform in Joey Gallo. Sure, he provided some very solid defense at first base, and even made a few nice plays in the outfield, the value he brought at the plate (or lackthereof), makes it almost impossible to justify that he will be back. This season he accumulated a brutal .161/.277/.336 slash line, to go along with a .613 OPS, a career-low. Additionally, he hit only 10 homers and 27 RBIs while striking out 102 times in 260 plate appearances. He will not be back, and it will be a shock if he even lands a major league deal this Winter.
LHP Patrick Corbin
This next one has been a long time coming, as it feels like Nationals fans have been prepared to say goodbye to Patrick Corbin for a little while now. With Corbin being absolutely abysmal every year outside of 2019 in his Nats tenure, I would be shocked to see Mike Rizzo & co. racing to re-sign him this offseason. I would say there is a 99.9% chance he will not be back, and if he wants to remain in the majors with any team, he may have to make a move to the bullpen.
RHP Trevor Williams
If you had asked me before the season if Trevor Williams would even finish the year as a National, I likely would have told you that I did not believe he would. As time wore on, I was able to admit that I was wrong about him, and when healthy, he was a great asset for the Nats in 2024. In just 13 starts this year, he went 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA and sparkling 1.03 WHIP, and should be able to catch on with another team, as he likely will be squeezed out of consideration for next year's rotation with the abundance of young talent coming up.
RHP Jacob Barnes
Probably the very definition of a "mid" reliever, Jacob Barnes will hit unrestricted free agency this offseason. He appeared in 63 games this year out of the bullpen and pitched to a 4.36 ERA and 1.32 WHIP, while striking out 55 batters in 66.0 innings. Already 34-years-old, I could see Barnes returning on a one-year deal to bolster the bullpen, but it's unclear if the team expects him to return.
All stats in this article were provided by MLB.com.