Three Players Who Should NOT Be Back With The Nationals In 2024

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The Nationals have been frequent flyers in the bargain bin department the past few offseasons, which is not atypical of a rebuilding franchise. With said strategy, however, there will be more than their fair share of misfires when it comes to signings. The Nationals have been volume shooters, hoping that if they sign a dozen or so low risk free agents, that a couple of them will pan out and therefore not putting all of their eggs in one basket. Again, a fine strategy for a team in their position.

But here we are as the 2023 season winds down and the Nationals are knocking on the door of 70 wins, when most baseball experts, pundits and fans would not have expected them to hit 60 wins. A great step forward on the rebuidling road that sets the team up for an interesting spot next season. With the right roster replacements, the Nationals could take another giant step forward in 2024 that sets them up in a great spot as their young, top MLB talent such as James Wood and Dylan Crews reach the Major Leagues.

The key here is the right roster replacements. Failing to address an area of need can stunt or prolong the rebuild.

Here are three players who should NOT be back with the Nationals in 2024:

Alex Call

Washington Nationals v Milwaukee Brewers / Kayla Wolf/GettyImages

The writing has been on the wall with this move for quite some time. While a well above average defender, Alex Call has struggled mightily at the plate, being statistically one of the worst hitters in the Major Leagues for basically the entire season. Call draws walks, but that is about all he does well at the plate. Even his above average speed does not really translate to stolen bases. All things considered, Alex Call's ceiling is a 4th outfielder, defensive replacement with a late innings pinch runner potential.

Furthermore, the emergence of Jacob Young has really rendered Call's role on the team nearly redundant as Young is an even better defender than Call (who is very good) with better speed. Young is also several years younger than Call which, in theory, gives Young the edge in terms of development potential. Are either a future MLB starter? Maybe not, but Young definitely is better to keep around than Call at this point. You could argue if not for the injury to Stone Garrett, Call would have already been DFA'd.

Alex Call has now played in 162 games in his Nationals' career and slashes a lowly .209/.311/.335 which equates to a .644 OPS, which is really boosted by his 2022 numbers as Call is currently sporting a .199 batting average and .612 OPS. It has been more than a fair trial and it is time for the Nationals to move on.

Cory Abbott

Atlanta Braves v Washington Nationals / G Fiume/GettyImages

This might be the low-hanging fruit of the Nationals' current roster, but Cory Abbott's time in DC should be up at the conclusion of the season. Abbott has been sent down and recalled from AAA Rochester several times over the past two seasons, and is really only up now due to injury/necessity. That being said, the Nationals' search for a long-relief pitcher who is capable of eating innings needs to extend beyond Abbott and other in-house options.

While players like Paolo Espino and Erasmo Ramirez served a purpose during their stints in DC, Abbott has never quite had the same value. Trading runs for outs has frequently been a trade the Nationals would make in the past few years, but Abbott has not exactly mastered getting the outs part of the deal.

Abbott has a 5.92 ERA in 83.2 innings over the past two seasons with the Nationals, including a 6.81 ERA this season. Abbott has 19 appearances this season and only 35.2 innings pitched, which is less than 2 innings an appearance. Not exactly what you want from your long reliever. Unless he can develop his arsenal to a back-end of the bullpen type pitcher, Abbott does not fill a need for this team.

Dom Smith

Chicago White Sox v Washington Nationals / G Fiume/GettyImages

I am sure most of you expected to see Trevor Williams' name here, and that would be a fine argument. In fact, you really would not need to argue at all. But I believe Williams can regain some value as a reliever/spot starter, as he excelled in that role with the Mets prior to signing with the Nationals. As a full time starter, he should not be back with the Nationals. But in theory, he still has some perceived value.

Now I am sure I will run into the group of fans that support the return of Dom Smith and cite his defense and clubhouse presence as reasons for a potential return, not to mention his cheap contract.

Well, first of all, it isn't your money so you don't have to worry about spending/not spending it. Also, the Nationals have more than $100 Million in spending space - they can afford a few extra million to upgrade the position.

The real reason to move on from Smith is that you NEED to upgrade offensively at first base. Look around the league - all the best teams have strong bats at first base. Dom Smith, on the other hand, currently has a .685 OPS and while he has hit 11 homeruns, nearly all of them have come in low leverage situations when the score is lopsided one way or another. While his defense has been strong, first base is not the position where you can sacrifice offense, especially that much offense, for defense.

Smith has not been the worst player on the Nationals this season, but his play has not proved enough to stick around. If the Nationals are serious about taking another step forward, they will make the necessary upgrade at the necessary power position.

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