Earlier this week, I wrote about three Nationals players who should not be back with the club in 2024 for various reasons, the primary of which was an underwhelming performance in 2023. Continuing with that theme, I wanted to highlight three Nationals players who may not have had the strongest performance in 2023 but still deserve a chance in 2024.
These are players that are not guaranteed to stick around despite performance, such as players with large contracts or young players the team hopes will take that next step. Rather, these are players that are truly on the roster bubble and could be replaced. When I say roster bubble, I do not necessarily mean the traditional sense of the term either where the player is at risk of getting cut or released. I think even if the Nationals decided to move in a different direction, these players would like remain in the system and possibly on the 40 man roster and just be assigned to AAA Rochester.
We know the Nationals need upgrades at various positions throughout their roster and if they feel there is an upgrade out there, they should absolutely pursue it. However, these players still could turn things around and provide value to a team looking to take another big step forward in 2024.