It has been a long, and treterous road since Anthony Rendon departed after the 2019 World Series. Carter Kieboom was believed to be the obvious successor, and as a Kieboom believer myself, it was heartbreaking to finally admit the former top prospect truly was a bust.
After the Kieboom flop, the Nationals have assembled an island of misfit toys to try and provide a spark at third base. Starlin Castro, Ildemaro Vargas, Jeimer Candelario, and Nick Senzel just to name a few. The only one who provided any value was Jeimer, and after an awesome first half in 2023, he was shipped to the Cubs for my guy DJ Herz.
Jeimer Candelario is going to be a game changer for a contender.
— Talkin Nats (@TalkinNats) July 25, 2023
My goodness is the candy man having one heck of a season 🍬🍭 pic.twitter.com/6oIY0asNg6
After the Nick Senzel debacle in 2024 and Brady House is still at least a half-season away, Mike Rizzo and the Nationals find themselves at a crossroads. Looking to contend, do you wait for Brady House or do you make a splash like signing Alex Bregman or trading for a guy like Nolan Arenado.
With the Nationals still unlikely to contend in 2024, I am on the side of the former. We need to be patient with Brady House, who was one of the youngest players in Triple-A last season at only 21 years old, and sign a bounce-back candidate to a 1-year deal to compete with Jose Tena as a stopgap. The only problem is, the third baseman market could not be more thin this year.
Outside of Alex Bregman, J.D. Davis, Gio Urshela, Yoan Moncada, and Luis Urias are the only "valuable" true third baseman, leaving the Nationals with a tough decision to push all their chips into the Bregman basket, or to bank on Tena and House while assigning additional players for depth.
Not left with a clear choice, I think the correct answer is to sign a guy primed for a bounce back, Yoan Moncada.
The 29-year-old oozes with talent, but to put it nicely, he has been bit by the injury bug the past few seasons after putting together a career year in 2021. The former top prospect shipped from Boston to the White Sox in the Chris Sale deal has spent 30%, 42%, and 92% of his last three seasons on the injured list, making only 45 plate appearances last season battling through an adductor injury.
Yoán Moncada takes the lead right back. pic.twitter.com/sEgYbaJoW9
— Chicago White Sox (@whitesox) September 20, 2023
The switch-hitting Moncada broke out in 2019, posting a 5.2 fWAR season, bopping 25 home runs with a .915 OPS. Moncada was rewarded with a 5-year 70 million dollar extension and continued to play well into the 2021 season, hitting 14 home runs with a .787 OPS and 3.7 fWAR playing solid defense, and walking at a career-high rate of 13.6% good for a .375 on-base percentage.
Moncada's stock has collapsed with the injuries and little production over the past few seasons, but a fresh start on a 1-year contract similar to Jeimer Candelario a few years ago, could pay the Nationals, and Moncada wonders. He has always had good numbers when healthy and can be flipped at the deadline if we are out of contention and he is playing well. Moncada has lost some speed and defensive ability, but still has the ability to be a valuable asset.