Who are some past and present Nationals players playing Winter ball this year?

The World Series might be done, but baseball never is: winter ball is upon us, as is the Premier12, one of the largest international men's baseball tournaments. A smattering of Nationals talent, current and former, appears on several rosters across these leagues and in the Premier12.

Catcher Tres Barrera appears on Team Mexico's roster in the Premier12. Barrera made his debut with the Nationals in 2019 and played 51 games with the team across three seasons, posting a .623 OPS with two home runs. Barrera was never much more than a backup catcher with the team, but posted a much more respectable .755 OPS in 50 games with 6 home runs in 50 games with LMB's Toros de Tijuana in 2024. Mexico took home third place in the last installment in 2019, defeating the United States in the bronze medal match.

2021 National Alberto Baldonado made Team Panamá's roster. Baldonado didn't exactly light up the world in his team with the major league team, but he's since gone east and excelled, posting a 2.22 ERA in 79 games with Nippon Professional Baseball's Yomiuri Giants.

2024 sixth-round pick Randal Díaz has made himself rather worldly this autumn, appearing on both Puerto Rico's national team roster for the Premier12 and being drafted first overall in the LBPRC's rookie draft by los Senadores de San Juan. The infielder Díaz posted a 1.069 OPS this year at Indiana State en route to his selection in the Rule 4 Draft by the Nationals, and will play both for and in his native Puerto Rico in the coming months.

Venezuela's team includes Ehire Adrianza, who fashioned out a solid major league career of his own but whose Nationals tenure was underscored by being a part of potentially the darkest season in Nationals history, after posting just a .458 OPS in 31 games with the 2022 squad.

Moving on to league play, Venezuela's LVBP features several faces that Nationals fans should recognize. The Lara Cardinals are captained by Ildemaro Vargas. Vargas has appeared on Lara's roster nearly every LVBP season since 2015, and had back-to-back seasons with an OPS over .900 across 2021-23. Former Nationals prospect Israel Pineda and infielders Alcides Escobar and César Hernández will appear for La Guaira as well.

Juan Yepez has spent the last few winters playing for los Cangrejeros de Santurce in the LBPRC, and it would be unsurprising for him to do so again this offseason. The most prestigious of the winter leagues, however, is LIDOM in the Dominican Republic. LIDOM features by far the most active and former major league talent on its rosters. Middle infielder Nasim Nuñez is on los Tigres del Licey, the league's most historic team with 24 titles since the league was founded in 1951. Paolo Espino will pitch for los Toros del Este. The most Nationals-heavy team in the league is las Águilas Cibaeñas, rostering both Yadiel Hernández and Starlin Castro, as well as minor leaguer Erick Mejia.

Nationals cult hero Joey Meneses is still taking at bats for los Tomateros de Culiacán in the LMP, Mexico's winter league. As of Sunday morning, Cabajoey has a .984 OPS in 13 games for the first-place Tomateros, who sit at 15-3. Also playing in LMP is former National Carl Edwards Jr., who is starting for los Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón and has dominated to the tune of an 0.39 ERA in 4 starts and 23 innings.

There's a lot of baseball still to be played as 2024 winds down and the calendar flips over to 2025, and even Nationals fans can still find players and teams to root on to victory. Most information in this article was sourced from WBSC and Baseball-Reference. You can find more of my ramblings on Bluesky here, and leave any questions and comments on our Twitter @DistrictOnDeck.