The Washington Nationals offseason to this point has been relatively exciting for a number of reasons, but could also be looked at as slow or disappointing simply by looking at it through the scope of free agency.
On that front, it would be hard to argue that the effort to this point has been underwhelming to this point, but perhaps the front office should be cut a little slack for investing so much into the coaching and player development staffs throughout the organization. That was a clear weakness of the previous regime under Mike Rizzo, and is one of the prime reasons why he is still unemployed right now.
However, while the Nationals have been quiet in free agency so far like I mentioned earlier, that obviously does not mean other teams are not following suit. While there are teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers who are on the verge of assembling the most unfair team of all time, there are also teams that aren't emphasizing spending as much the Dodgers are like the Chicago White Sox for example.
To the credit of Chicago, they actually have spent a solid amount of money this offseason, bringing in guys like Seranthony Dominguez and Munetaka Murakami, among others, and might not be done yet. However, their latest addition caught my attention, and unfortunately for White Sox fans, it was for all the wrong reasons.
They agreed to a minor league deal with reliever Lucas Sims, who had one of the worst stints a pitcher has ever had during his brief time with the Nationals last season. In just 18 games, he managed only 12.1 innings while pitching to a horrid 13.86 ERA and 2.270 WHIP to go along with a 13:14 K:BB ratio while also hitting 7 batters.
That led to him being designated for assignment by the Nationals, and he has not appeared in the majors since. He struggled in the minors as well last season after leaving the Nationals' organization, and hopefully for White Sox fans, they won't have to rely on him for any sort of leverage in 2026.
The falloff from Sims could partially be attributed to the coaching staff of the Nationals, which was among the worst in the league for the past few seasons. Perhaps he will be able to recapture some of his previous form that he had as recently as the 2024 season. For now, White Sox fans should have their fingers crossed that they don't have to see Sims pitch a lot this season.
Do you think Lucas Sims will find success after joining on with the Chicago White Sox? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.