Well, if you've been following along this offseason, or know anything about the Washington Nationals at all, you would know that the club desperately needs an upgrade at first base. We here at District on Deck have written numerous pieces about the club's need to finally spend some serious money to upgrade the product on the field, and it seemed that New York Mets' first baseman Pete Alonso would be a signing that made a ton of sense on paper.
However, according to Ken Rosenthal today, he believes that "Pete Alonso is most likely out of the Nationals' price range," which created a variety of different ways to interpret this as a Nationals fans. If they are likely going to be out of the running for Juan Soto, and are likely going to be out of the running for Pete Alonso, where is that money going to go? While there has been no legitimate guarantee by Mike Rizzo or the Lerner family that they are going to spend big-time money this offseason, the club is almost certain to make at least a couple of impact additions, or so you would think.
What's really interesting now for the Nationals is what this claim by Rosenthal could mean for the overall outlook of the offseason. Sure, the Nationals might not want to give a long-term deal to a guy like Alonso who is pretty horrible defensively and only offers value if he's hitting well, but will they be in the price range for any other free agents that could be around that price tag? We know that there have been rumors connecting Houston Astros' third baseman Alex Bregman to the club, but he will likely command more than Alonso will in free agency, so perhaps the Nationals just don't want to spend that amount of money on a first baseman, which is understandable.
The Nationals have never really been a club to spend major money on a first baseman over the years, often times going with solid options who weren't super expensive like Adam LaRoche or Michael Morse, and more recently the horrible signings that were Eric Thames or Joey Gallo. Perhaps the club pursuing a shorter-term deal with a guy like Christian Walker would make more sense, as he seems like more of a mature veteran presence that the club could certainly use, and would come at a fraction of the price that Alonso would cost.
For the sake of the offseason and that I truly believe the Nationals will make a big splash or two in free agency, I am going to choose to believe that the club has chosen not to enter what is sure to be an expensive bidding war for Alonso that might not age well. Hopefully I am correct in this thinking and that the club will make a move for a guy like Walker or Bregman, but we can not be too sure yet.
When will the Nationals finally make a free agent splash? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.