Washington Nationals: Dark Horse in Pursuit of…

The Washington Nationals made great strides this season in the development of their young roster and had some payroll flexibility open up with the expiration of Patrick Corbin’s albatross of a contract.

As they move closer to their contention window opening at the end of the rebuild, there are still some areas of concern that need improvement on the roster.

Free agency is the perfect medicine for all that ails a team on the verge of contention, and for the Nationals this winter, that could prove just as true as it did ahead of the 2019 season that saw the team win its first World Series Championship.

Then, it was Corbin who Washington brought in through free agency to help put the team over the edge, adding his arm to a staff that already included Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer, but this year could see the addition of an offensive weapon.

In a recent article for CBS Sports, R.J. Anderson ranked the top 25 MLB free agents for this winter and listed potential landing spots for each one.

Anderson ranked Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman as the third-best available free agent and listed the Nationals as a potential candidate to land the fan favorite.

“Bregman has been one of the most productive third basemen in the sport for much of his career,” writes Anderson, “he’s compiled the sixth-most WAR at the position since 2020, putting him ahead of Rafael Devers and behind only the who’s who of this era’s third basemen. He’s had a terrific career to date.”

It has been a storied career thus far for Bregman, one that has seen the star named an American League All-Star twice, win one Silver Slugger, finish as the runner-up of the American League MVP once, and win two World Series Championships with the Astros.

He has batted .272/.366/.483 throughout his career with 191 home runs, 663 RBI, and a 132 OPS+ across 4,832 plate appearances in 1,111 games.

The Nationals are in need of an improvement at third base, one that Bregman could provide them, as they were only able to produce a .228/.285/.304 line from the hot corner with seven home runs and 45 RBI.

Bregman would prove to be an immediate impact at the plate, and in the field, for Washington, one that is much needed at both ends, as well as serving as a hugely beneficial veteran leader in the clubhouse who could remind his fellow teammates that staying at a casino until 8:00 AM the day of a game is highly frowned upon in this establishment.