While the Washington Nationals have not come out of the gates scorching in free agency so far, they have been busy in making a series of moves across both the major and minor league levels in order to shape their organizational depth for 2025. However, one name who is no longer a part of the Nationals organization is 2018 1st-round pick, righty Mason Denaburg.
Denaburg was picked with the 27th overall selection in that year's draft out of Merritt Island High School in Florida, and signed above slot value at $3 million. The 2018 class was especially weak for the organization, as to this day the Nationals have seen only 3 players get a shot at the big leagues, most notably starting pitcher Jake Irvin, whom the team selected in the 4th round. The other 2 big leaguers were outfielder Cody Wilson and lefty reliever Evan Lee, who played in just 1 and 4 games, respectively, with the Nationals. Irvin has become a key contributor for the Nationals' current rotation, and serves as the saving grace overall for the class.
The same unfortunately can not be said for Denaburg, who, after making just 7 appearances in Rookie Ball in 2019, did not see live game action again until 2022, due to Covid-19 cancelling the minor league season in 2020 and him undergoing Tommy John Surgery in 2021. While Denaburg was still attempting to work is way back, he had lost some crucial years of development, and struggled to the tune of an 11.64 ERA in 28 appearances and 4 starts for the Low-A Fredericksburg Nationals in 2023.
He had begun a transition to the bullpen in order to give himself a better chance of one day realizing his dream of becoming a big leaguer, but his struggles persisted in 2024 as well. After starting to show a little bit of promise at the Low-A level in 2024, pitching to a 4.04 ERA in 35 appearances, he was bumped up to High-A Wilmington, where he once again struggled to a 7.50 ERA in 5 appearances, and came into this offseason needing to figure out what was best for him.
Ultimately, he, along with another former Nationals 1st round pick in Carter Kieboom, elected minor league free agency a couple weeks back, and Denaburg will be in search of a new organization to hopefully capitalize on the potential that made him a highly coveted draft pick. I hope it all works out for him in the long run, and I'll certainly be keeping an eye on him to see if he gets picked up by another club.
Do you think Mason Denaburg will be able to figure it out with another organization? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.