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Nationals Drawing Significant Interest In CJ Abrams

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The Nationals have been deep in a rebuild for quite some time, and that figures to continue under new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. That’s meant plenty of trade rumors surrounding southpaw MacKenzie Gore, who is set to reach free agency after the 2027 season. He’s not the only trade chip that Toboni has to market, however, as Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic report that the team is also “getting pushed aggressively” on infielder CJ Abrams. Sammon and Rosenthal write that the Nats are open to moving both players, though they’ve set a high bar to deal each of them.

Gore’s been all over the rumor mill in recent weeks, but the status of Abrams’s market is news. He’s long been a speculative trade candidate (even landing on MLBTR’s Top 40 Trade Candidates list last month) but has received much less buzz than Gore to this point in the winter. Some of that is because it would be easier for the Nationals to hold onto Abrams. The 25-year-old is under team control for three seasons and is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of just $5.6MM in 2026. That leaves the Nationals with minimal pressure to trade him this winter, as he’d still be one of the most controllable and affordable players available if held until the summer or even next offseason.

With that said, Abrams’s longer-term control and low price tag make him a player who would be fairly easy to fit onto virtually any club in need of infield help. Abrams plays shortstop in D.C. but has received poor grades from defensive metrics for his work there, suggesting that a move elsewhere on the dirt could behoove him. Teams like the Braves and Rays are known to be seeking help at shortstop, however, and in a thin market with few options beyond Bo Bichette and Ha-Seong Kim adding someone like Abrams despite defensive misgivings could make sense. Plenty of teams could look to use Abrams at either second or third base if they so chose. Teams like the Pirates, Mariners, Red Sox, Tigers, and Cubs have all been connected to the infield market this winter and there’s surely plenty of other teams who would be motivated to try and land Abrams to bolster their infield.

For all his defensive shortcomings, Abrams has the potential to be an impactful offensive player. Over the past two seasons, he’s slashed .252/.315/.433 with 114 extra-base hits and 62 stolen bases, good for a 107 wRC+ overall. The Diamondbacks were the only team in baseball last year to get a 107 wRC+ or better from each of third base, second base, and shortstop. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the other 28 teams in the league all have room for Abrams on their infield—the Dodgers, for example, certainly aren’t going to supplant Mookie Betts after just one down season with the bat—but it does highlight how many teams could upgrade their offense by bringing Abrams into the fold even if the 25-year-old doesn’t continue to develop in the coming years.

As good of a fit for a large number of teams as Abrams may be, however, it’s worth remembering that he’s arguably more of a complimentary player than a true star at this point. Abrams’s defensive lapses at shortstop severely limit his overall value, and while he turned in a three-win season this year it was the first of his career by fWAR. He also offers little in the way of on-base ability, with a career .306 OBP thanks to a walk rate that peaked at 6.6% in 2023. Even with those shortcomings, however, Abrams’s combination of power and speed are undeniable and should make him very intriguing to any infield-needy team as the Winter Meetings get underway.

Nationals Trade Jose Ferrer To Mariners For Harry Ford

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The Nationals and Mariners lined up on a trade sending lefty reliever Jose A. Ferrer to Seattle for rookie catcher Harry Ford and minor league pitcher Isaac Lyon. Both teams have announced the trade.

Seattle adds a flamethrower from the left side to complement Andres Munoz and Matt Brash in the backend of the bullpen. The price is somewhat steep, as Ford ranks 42nd in MLB.com’s top 100 prospect rankings. Lyon was taken in the 10th round of the 2025 draft. He made a handful of appearances at Single-A this past season.

Ferrer emerged as Washington’s closer after Kyle Finnegan was shipped to Detroit at the trade deadline. He picked up 11 saves over the final two months of the season. The 25-year-old’s 21.9% strikeout rate and mid-4.00s ERA don’t scream shutdown closer, but he had an excellent 2.85 SIERA and an elite 4.9% walk rate on the year. Ferrer put together a stretch of 14 straight scoreless appearances shortly after taking over as closer, though he did falter over his final few appearances.

Ferrer has made 142 appearances out of the Nationals’ bullpen since his debut in 2023. He has a career 4.36 ERA, but his xERA and xFIP are both below 3.50. While he hasn’t piled up strikeouts, Ferrer’s upper-90s sinker has helped him rank among the best relievers in ground ball rate. Ferrer is under team control through 2029. He won’t reach arbitration until the 2027 campaign.

Ford has been a top 5 prospect in Seattle’s system since getting taken in the first round of the 2021 draft. The 12th overall pick slotted in at fifth among the Mariners’ prospects in 2022, per MLB.com. He reached the top spot in 2023, and most recently slotted in at fourth. Ford has hit at every minor league stop, while also providing significant contributions as a base stealer.

The 22-year-old Ford slashed .283/.408/.460 with 16 home runs and seven steals at Triple-A this past year. He struck out less than 20% of the time while posting a massive 16.2% walk rate. Ford briefly debuted with the big-league club, mostly operating as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. He went 1-for-6 in eight appearances.

The 16 home runs with Tacoma were a career high for Ford, though the seven steals were a disappointing total after he swiped 35 bags at Double-A in 2024. Ford’s elite walk rate has allowed him to consistently put up huge on-base numbers. Outside of a .377 OBP in 2024, he’s been at or above .400 in each season of his minor league tenure. Ford’s power outlook is more gap-to-gap than over-the-fence, but his combination of speed and on-base skills gives him a unique offensive profile, particularly for a catcher.

With Cal Raleigh landing a six-year extension before the 2025 campaign, Ford was going to be blocked in Seattle for the foreseeable future. He’ll head to Washington to join a catching group that struggled with injuries and production last season. Recurring concussion issues limited Keibert Ruiz to 68 games in 2025. He briefly returned to the team in early July, then went right back on the IL and never made it back to the big-league squad. Riley Adams handled the majority of the reps behind the plate, along with brief cameos from Drew Millas and Jorge Alfaro. Washington’s backstops ranked 29th in OPS. Adams is back on a one-year split deal, while Alfaro is a free agent.

Lyon made four starts with Modesto this past year. The 21-year-old righty will head to Fredericksburg to continue honing his craft. Lyon is the son of former pitcher Brandon Lyon.

Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported the Mariners were nearing a Ferrer deal. Robert Murray of FanSided reported that Ford was heading to Washington. Golden was first with Lyon’s inclusion. Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.

Latest On MacKenzie Gore Trade Talks

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Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore is one of the biggest names to watch as the Winter Meetings approach. The All-Star southpaw is Washington’s biggest trade chip, and they’re unsurprisingly getting plenty of calls.

Will Sammon and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic write that the Nationals have heard from upwards of 15 teams with interest. Buster Olney of ESPN relays that executives from multiple front offices expect a Gore trade to come together within the coming days. ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel wrote earlier this week that the Nats had a high asking price — as one would expect for a mid-rotation starter who comes with two affordable seasons of club control.

Gore, who turns 27 in February, took the ball 30 times this year and posted a 4.17 earned run average. That’s not all that impressive in aggregate, but he flashed the talent that once made him a third overall pick. Gore’s first half was excellent: 110 1/3 innings of 3.02 ERA ball with a 30.4% strikeout rate. Things unraveled down the stretch. He was tagged for a 6.75 ERA in 11 starts after the All-Star Break. His strikeout percentage plummeted by 10 points as the whiff rates on his curveball and slider dropped. Gore struggled to throw strikes and twice landed on the injured list. He missed the first couple weeks of September with shoulder inflammation, then was scratched from his final start because of an ankle impingement.

The ankle is unlikely to be a concern moving forward. The shoulder could raise a little more alarm, but his velocity wasn’t much affected when he returned. His fastball averaged 94.8 MPH in September, only marginally below its 95.3 MPH mark for the season. Gore’s scattershot command and start-to-start inconsistency are the bigger questions. There’s nevertheless going to be ample interest in a lefty with plus stuff who pitched like a #2 starter for the first three months of the season.

Gore ranked as MLBTR’s top trade candidate entering the offseason. That reflected both his value and the likelihood that he’d be on the move. The Nationals don’t appear close to coming out of their rebuild. They fired GM Mike Rizzo midseason and are starting fresh with president of baseball operations Paul Toboni. Gore is two seasons away from free agency. The Nats almost certainly won’t be competitive next season and face an uphill battle to making the playoffs in 2027, making it difficult to envision Gore remaining in D.C. beyond next year’s deadline at the latest.

MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects Gore for a $4.7MM salary in his penultimate arbitration year. That’s unlikely to climb beyond $8-10MM in 2027. An acquiring team would be getting two years of a mid-rotation arm for a total around $12-15MM. That’s a bargain even if Gore never reaches another level, but there are surely clubs that believe they can coax a better full season than he has shown so far.

The Padres reportedly made the strongest push to bring Gore back at last summer’s deadline. They still need controllable starting pitching, though a deal could be difficult to manage after they moved top prospect Leo De Vries to the A’s for Mason Miller instead. The Cubs were also linked to Gore at the deadline and remain on the hunt for a high-end starter.

The Giants, Yankees, Tigers, Red Sox and Rangers could all pursue a top arm in trade. The rotation isn’t necessarily a need for the Mariners, but they’re in win-now mode and have the kind of farm system that could allow them to jump in on any available trade candidate. The Orioles and Mets are also chasing rotation upside, but a huge trade with the Nationals could be complicated. The O’s and Nats have long had a contentious relationship related to their decade-plus long dispute over TV rights, while the Mets face the challenge of pulling off a trade within the division.

Latest On Mariners’ Bullpen Targets

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Mariners general manager Justin Hollander publicly admitted a few weeks back that the club would be looking for bullpen upgrades. Adam Jude of The Seattle Times reports that Seattle plans to add two relievers and hopes to have one locked down by the end of the Winter Meetings next week. Adding a lefty is a priority and Jude lists five names they are considering, with four of them being southpaws. They are Matt Strahm of the Phillies, JoJo Romero of the Cardinals, Jose A. Ferrer of the Nationals, as well as free agents Tyler Rogers and Hoby Milner. Rogers is the lone right-hander in that group. Jude also mentions that the Mariners had interest in right-hander Phil Maton before he signed with the Cubs.

Seattle had a decent bullpen group in 2025. Their relievers had a collective 3.72 earned run average, which was ninth in the majors. Andrés Muñoz is one of the better closers in the game. But just about any club can add an extra leverage arm or two and bump other guys down a peg. That’s particularly true for the Mariners from the left side, as Gabe Speier is their only established southpaw reliever at the moment. Robinson Ortiz is the other lefty reliever on the 40-man but he hasn’t yet made his major league debut.

It’s unlikely that the club will spend a lot on the relief group. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto suggested that the M’s will likely begin 2026 with a similar payroll to where they were at the end of 2025. RosterResource estimates that they are currently about $15MM shy of that target. They already re-signed Josh Naylor but could look to further bolster the infield by re-signing Jorge Polanco or Eugenio Suárez. Jude unsurprisingly suggests the M’s aren’t likely to go after a big name reliever like Edwin Díaz or Robert Suarez.

Strahm, 34, is the most established of the bunch. He now has ten big league seasons under his belt. Though he has pushed into his mid-30s, he has remained effective. He just tossed 62 1/3 innings for the Phils this year, allowing 2.74 earned runs per nine. His 7.8% walk rate was a bit better than average and his 27.3% strikeout rate was quite strong. He triggered a vesting option in his contract and will make $7.5MM next year.

All that makes him attractive for the Mariners but also valuable for the Phillies. It’s possible the Phils may be willing to move a lefty due to a relative surplus. They have reportedly received some trade interest since they have Strahm, José Alvarado and Tanner Banks. The Phils have a lot they want to accomplish this winter, including re-signing Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto while also remaking their outfield and perhaps bolstering the rotation. They have some money to spend but perhaps trading one of their lefties could leave them less reliant on spending their cash.

Romero, 29, is a much more straightforward trade candidate. The Cardinals are rebuilding and he is just one year away from free agency. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projects him for a salary of $4.4MM next year. Over the past three years, he has tossed 156 2/3 innings for the Cards with a 2.93 ERA, 22.9% strikeout rate, 8.5% walk rate and 53.3% ground ball rate.

Ferrer, 26 in March, is also on a rebuilding club. However, he’s under club control for four more years and hasn’t yet qualified for arbitration, so the Nats don’t really need to trade him anytime soon. They are surely hoping to return to contention within his window of control but they may be open to a trade anyway, given that a pitcher can get hurt at any time and reliever performance tends to be volatile.

In Ferrer’s career, he has an unimpressive 4.36 ERA but that might mask his true skills. He is a ground ball guy and the Nats have been one of the worst defensive clubs in recent years, so perhaps a change of scenery would help him unlock a new gear in terms of run prevention. In 76 1/3 innings for the Nats this year, his 21.9% strikeout rate was just shy of league average. His 4.9% walk rate and 62.6% ground ball rate were both excellent. His 4.48 ERA doesn’t look great but his 3.03 FIP and 2.85 SIERA provide more optimism about him thriving in a different environment.

Milner, 35 in January, has a somewhat similar grounder-heavy profile to Ferrer. He has logged at least 64 innings in four straight seasons now. Over that 2022-25 span, he has thrown 264 frames with a 3.55 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 5.8% walk rate and 51.1% ground ball rate. Despite the solid track record, he was only able to secure a one-year, $2.5MM deal from Texas last winter. Perhaps he’ll have some extra earning power after finishing another solid season but he’s also a year older.

Rogers, 35 this month, is one of the most unique pitchers in the game. Not to be confused with his lefty brother Taylor, Tyler is the submarining righty. He doesn’t rack up strikeouts but he is one of the best in the game when it comes to staying healthy, avoiding walks and inducing grounders as well as soft contact. He has logged at least 70 innings in five straight campaigns. Dating back to the start of 2021, he has 378 1/3 innings with a 2.71 ERA, 17% strikeout rate, 4.4% walk rate, 56.3% ground ball rate and consistently strong numbers in terms of exit velocity allowed. He is a free agent for the first time and should be in high demand but some teams may be scared off by his age and lack of velocity, as he can barely even get into the 80s with his fastballs.

Photo courtesy of Jayne Kamin, Oncea-Imagn Images

Blue Jays Still Exploring Rotation Additions After Dylan Cease Deal

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The Blue Jays made a big move to upgrade their rotation by signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year deal, but they may not be done. Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet reports that the Jays have remained engaged on the starting pitching market even after agreeing to terms with Cease. The report mentions that the Jays had interest in Joe Ryan of the Twins and MacKenzie Gore of the Nationals prior to the trade deadline, while also suggesting the Jays have some interest in free agents Michael King and Cody Ponce.

The Toronto rotation currently projects to include Cease, Kevin Gausman, Shane Bieber, Trey Yesavage and José Berríos, with guys like Eric Lauer, Ricky Tiedemann and Bowden Francis in the mix as well.

That’s a pretty strong group but there are some question marks. Bieber’s decision to trigger his $16MM player option has led to speculation he may not be 100% healthy. He could have taken a $4MM buyout and returned to free agency, only needing to get $12MM to come out ahead, but a new deal would have required him to pass a physical. To be clear, that’s entirely speculative. There has been no public indication anything is wrong with Bieber, but it’s one possible explanation for why he didn’t pursue a larger deal. Another explanation could be that he simply wanted to stay with the Jays for another year before heading to free agency after a fully healthy season.

Beyond that, Gausman turns 35 in January. Yesavage had a tremendous debut late in the year but is still light on big league experience. Berríos had a mediocre 2025 and finished the season on the injured list due to elbow inflammation, though he is supposedly going to have a normal offseason. Lauer worked both as a starter and a reliever in 2025 and seems likely to do so again next year. Tiedemann has been on prospect lists for years but already had workload concerns before Tommy John surgery wiped out his 2025 season. Francis had a good showing in 2024 but was held back by shoulder problems this year.

There’s also the long-term picture to consider. Gausman, Bieber and Lauer are all slated for free agency after 2026. Berríos can also opt-out of his deal at that time. There’s reportedly been some consideration of trading Berríos but that will be a challenge considering his health status, results and opt-out. The general point is that there’s not a lot of long-term certainty. Signing Cease upgraded the rotation for the upcoming campaign and beyond. Yet another acquisition could do the same.

Gore is a pretty straightforward trade candidate. The Nationals are rebuilding and aren’t likely to be contending for a while. Gore is controlled for two more years and is represented by the Boras Corporation. It’s not true that Boras clients never sign extensions but it’s a decent bet that Gore and Boras are looking forward to free agency.

It’s notable that the Jays were interested in him ahead of the deadline but his situation has changed a bit since then. He was dominant through the All-Star break in 2025, as he had an 3.02 earned run average, 30.5% strikeout rate and 7.7% walk rate at that time. But he struggled down the stretch and went on the IL twice, first due to shoulder inflammation and then an ankle impingement. His results suffered and he finished the year with a 4.17 ERA.

The Nats are getting interest in Gore this offseason but could perhaps wait until the upcoming trade deadline if they don’t get offers to their liking. He is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM next year, with another arbitration control beyond that. The Nats have very little on their books and don’t need to move him for financial reasons. If the Jays want to circle back to Gore, they might have to put a notable prospect package on the table.

The situation with Ryan is somewhat analogous. He is also two years away from the open market, with a projected $5.8MM salary next year. He has been a pretty consistently above average pitcher in his career. In his 641 1/3 innings, he has a 3.79 ERA, 27.6% strikeout rate and 5.7% walk rate.

The Twins seemed to kick off a rebuild or retool or reset or whatever at the deadline. They traded a number of relievers, including Louis Varland to the Jays, and sent Carlos Correa back to Houston. Coming into this offseason, many expected Ryan and other Twins to be on the trade block but Minnesota’s president of baseball operations Derek Falvey has downplayed the idea that he needs to continue subtracting from the roster.

If the Jays can’t find solutions on the trade market, they could sign another free agent. Nicholson-Smith reports that King “could be” of interest. Though the Jays wouldn’t sacrifice prospects directly, they would still be hurting their farm system. King rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres and is therefore tied to the associated penalties. Since the Jays paid the competitive balance tax in 2025, they would have to forfeit two draft picks and $1MM in international bonus pool space. Cease also rejected a QO from the Padres, so the Jays have already paid that price. If they were to end up with Cease and King, that would mean giving up a total of four draft picks and $2MM from their bonus pool.

It’s unclear if the Jays would be willing to go down that road. It presumably depends on what kind of financial price they would have to pay to sign King. He seemed on track for a nine-figure deal before injuries hampered him in 2025. MLBTR predicted him for a four-year, $80MM deal but it’s possible King looks for a shorter deal with opt-outs, so that he can return to free agency with a healthier platform season.

He had a really strong run from the second half of 2023 through the beginning of 2025. With the Yankees in 2023, he was blocked and stuck in a relief role. As the Yanks were playing out a lost season two years ago, they let King take a rotation job. He performed well and was flipped to the Padres prior to 2024, which eventually became his best season. From August 24th of 2023 through May 18th of 2025, he tossed 267 2/3 innings with a 2.72 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate and 8.1% walk rate. FanGraphs had him seventh among pitchers in the majors in wins above replacement for that span, behind only Tarik Skubal, Chris Sale, Zack Wheeler, Logan Webb, Cole Ragans and Cease.

The latter months of 2025 were marred by injury, however. A nerve injury in his shoulder put him on the shelf for several months. He came off the IL in August but left knee inflammation sent him right back there. He returned in September and wasn’t amazing, allowing ten earned runs in his final 15 2/3 innings. The Padres gave the Game Three start in the Wild Card round to Yu Darvish, who was 39 years old and battling elbow problems which would require surgery a month later, instead of King.

It all makes King one of the more interesting free agents of the offseason. He was a borderline ace for a while there but also has only one big league season with more than 15 starts. Teams likely have varying opinions on what they expect from him going forward.

As for Ponce, he’s also a wild card, but for different reasons. His MLB track record is small but he’s been pitching well overseas. He just wrapped up a season in which he tossed 180 2/3 innings for the Hanwha Eagles of the Korea Baseball Organization with a 1.89 ERA. His 252 strikeouts were a single-season KBO record. He was named the league MVP for his dominant season but remains unproven in North American ball. Regardless, it has been reported that he could earn $30MM to $40MM on a three-year deal.

Time will tell how aggressively the Jays go after another rotation upgrade. They still have needs elsewhere, including the back of the bullpen. Bringing in an impact bat, such as Kyle Tucker or reuniting with Bo Bichette, seems to be on the to-do list as well. RosterResource projects the Jays for a $263MM payroll and $272MM competitive balance tax figure next year. Those numbers were $258MM and $283MM at the end of 2025. It’s unclear how much farther they can push things but perhaps their deep playoff run in 2025 has created some extra spending capacity in 2026.

Photo courtesy of Matt Krohn, Imagn Images

Nationals Have Discussed MacKenzie Gore With Multiple Clubs

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Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore is a logical trade candidate this winter. According to Kiley McDaniel and Jeff Passan of ESPN, Washington’s new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has discussed Gore with multiple unnamed clubs but has a high asking price.

The case for the Nats to listen on Gore is straightforward. The club’s rebuild stalled out to a point that the franchise is undergoing a major shakeup. They fired president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and managed Dave Martinez in the summer. Toboni and Blake Butera are now in to replace them. The club would not have gone down that road if they expected a return to contention in the short term. Presumably, the new guys will have a few years of leeway to steer the ship in a new direction.

Gore is 26 years old, turning 27 in February, and is two years away from free agency. As a Boras client, he isn’t terribly likely to sign an extension this close to the open market. He is projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz for a salary of just $4.7MM and would be due another raise in 2027. Over the past two seasons, he tossed 326 innings for the Nats with a 4.03 earned run average.

He showed a higher level of upside for most of 2025. He had a 3.02 ERA through the All-Star break. His 7.7% walk rate was better than average and his 30.5% strikeout rate was quite strong. Only four qualified pitchers were ahead of him in terms of that strikeout rate, an impressive set of names which included Tarik Skubal, Zack Wheeler, Garrett Crochet and Hunter Brown.

He didn’t finish on a high note, however. He twice went on the injured list in the second half, once due to shoulder inflammation and the second time due to a right ankle impingement. Around those IL stints, he had a 6.75 ERA, bringing his season-long ERA up to 4.17.

Combining the club’s situation with Gore’s talent, affordability and window of control, there’s a clearcut case for him to be available. For all those reasons, MLBTR ranked him #1 on our list of the Top 40 Trade Candidates, which was published at the beginning of the offseason. That makes it unsurprising that Toboni has discussed Gore with various clubs this winter. It would be more surprising if he hadn’t.

What remains to be seen is if he gets an offer he considers strong enough to accept now. There’s an argument that perhaps he should wait until the trade deadline. It would give the newly-hired Toboni more time to get settled in and build out his staff before making a potentially franchise-altering move. As mentioned, Gore didn’t finish 2025 on a strong note. Perhaps a good start to the 2026 campaign would increase his trade value relative to today. During the offseason, interested teams can pivot to free agency, an option they won’t have in July.

On the other hand, it’s also possible that Gore will have less trade value a few months from now. If he suffers a notable injury in the first few months of the season or perhaps just posts some numbers that are more decent than ace-like, that could have a negative impact on the offers coming into Washington.

What might work in the Nats’ favor is that some other speculative trade candidates might be less available. Sonny Gray has already come off the board, having been traded to the Red Sox. The Marlins were expected to have Sandy Alcantara and/or Edward Cabrera on the block but they reportedly might need to add payroll this winter, making a trade less likely. The Twins seemed to kick off a rebuild at the trade deadline but president of baseball operations Derek Falvey recently pushed back on the idea that the team will keep selling. Perhaps that means Joe Ryan and Pablo López will stay in Minnesota.

Teams like the Brewers, Pirates and Royals could have pitching to move but they would likely be looking for big leaguers in return. The Nats, presumably, would be focused more on prospects who can help in the long term. For teams shopping in that aisle, Gore is the most attractive option.

Photo courtesy of Eric Hartline, Imagn Images

Nationals To Hire Corey Ray As First Base Coach

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The Nationals are going to hire Corey Ray as first base coach, reports Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post. He had previously been working for the Cubs in the minor leagues. He will replace Gerardo Parra as the first base coach in Washington.

Ray, 31, was once a high profile prospect. The Brewers selected him fifth overall in the 2016 draft and signed him with a $4.125MM bonus. He clearly had incredible tools in terms of power and speed but he had trouble recognizing breaking pitches. This led to a lot of swing-and-miss, especially as he climbed the minor league ladder and faced better pitching. When he first reached Triple-A in 2019, he struck out in 38.7% of his plate appearances. He would lower than number in future seasons but still ended up walking back to the dugout about a third of the time.

His prospect stock dimmed but the Brewers still didn’t want to lose him in the 2019 Rule 5 draft, so they added him to the 40-man roster. He stuck on the 40-man for a while but only got into one major league game, on April 24th of 2021, going 0-2 with one walk, one strikeout and one run scored. He was sent through waivers unclaimed in June of 2022. He became a minor league free agent at season’s end and didn’t sign anywhere else.

In the spring of 2023, the Cubs hired Ray to serve as a bench coach for their Single-A Myrtle Beach affiliate. Going into 2024, he was named manager of the club’s Arizona Complex League team. Nusbaum notes that Ray has also been serving as the organization’s baserunning coordinator.

The Nats are undergoing a major overhaul of their organization. Their ongoing rebuild has failed to show much progress and so just about everything is on the chopping block. President of baseball operations Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez were fired midseason. In September, Paul Toboni was hired as the club’s new president of baseball operations.

In October, it was reported that interim manager Miguel Cairo wouldn’t be continuing in that role while six coaches would only be brought back if the new manager wanted them on the staff. Those six were pitching coach Jim Hickey, hitting coach Darnell Coles, third base coach Ricky Gutierrez, bullpen coach Ricky Bones, catching/strategy coach Henry Blanco and Parra. Blake Butera was hired as the new manager a couple of days after that reporting. Since then, the Nats have hired Michael Johns as bench coach, Simon Mathews as pitching coach and now Ray as first base coach.

Fresh blood seems to be the name of the game. Johns is 50 years old but Toboni is 35, Butera 33 and Mathews 30. As mentioned, Ray is just 31 and not too far removed from his playing days. Younger doesn’t necessarily mean better and the Nats are presumably looking at attributes other than just age but it is perhaps an interesting symbol of how the organization felt it was falling behind the times and needed to quickly modernize.

Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images

Nationals Hire Desmond McGowan To Lead Amateur Scouting

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The Nationals are hiring Desmond McGowan to lead their amateur scouting department, according to a report from Joe Doyle of Over-Slot Baseball. McGowan’s title will be director of amateur acquisitions.

McGowan got his start in baseball with the Yankees as an analytics associate in 2019 before jumping to the Mets as an analyst in 2021. He rose through the ranks across five years in the Mets front office and was promoted to manager of data science earlier this year. McGowan’s work with the club was primarily focused on the draft, and he’ll remain in a similar role with the Nationals as he takes over his new club’s amateur scouting apparatus.

The hire continues an offseason that has been focused on overhauling the Nationals’ front office and coaching staffs after Paul Toboni and Blake Butera were brought in to replace Mike Rizzo as head of baseball operations and Dave Martinez as manager, respectively. Butera has made a number of additions to the coaching staff in the weeks since his hire, while Toboni has retained interim GM Mike DeBartolo in an assistant GM role while adding former Pirates director of amateur scouting Justin Horwitz to the organization as an assistant GM as well.

The Nationals’ focus on bringing in front office talent with a history in scouting continues with the hiring of McGowan. Toboni himself, of course, began his career with the Red Sox as an area scout before ascending the ranks to become an assistant GM during his time with Boston. That his front office hires to this point have reflected that experience is hardly a surprise, particularly given the fact that the Nationals remain entrenched in a lengthy rebuild that began back in 2021. While James Wood has emerged as a core piece of the future and some other players have shown promise, even controllable pieces like MacKenzie Gore and CJ Abrams remain heavily speculated upon as trade candidates with no end to the club’s rebuilding phase in sight.

That makes strong scouting, drafting, and development decisions over the next few years a must as the club looks to dig itself out of the hole it’s currently in. Bringing in minds like Toboni, Horwitz, and now McGowan should assist in that effort to beef up the scouting credentials of the Nationals’ front office, and the hope is surely to build out a robust farm system around top prospects Eli Willits, Travis Sykora, and Jarlin Susana, the latter two of whom could theoretically make their MLB debuts at some point during the 2026 campaign. That’s particularly important given that previous high-end draft picks by the Nationals under Rizzo haven’t always worked out in recent years. Dylan Crews was selected second overall in 2023 and certainly has a great deal of potential, but he’s yet to prove himself as even a league average hitter in the majors. Elijah Green, who the club selected fifth overall in 2022, is an even bigger question mark as he’s struggled to hit even in the lower minors and has not yet reached the Double-A level.

Nationals Hire Grant Anders To Coaching Staff

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The Nationals have hired Grant Anders for a role as a Major League development coach and bullpen catcher, according to the Washington Post’s Spencer Nusbaum.  Anders stays in the Beltway after two years on the Orioles’ coaching staff in a similar role as a development coach.

Reports emerged a few weeks ago that Anders wouldn’t be returning to Baltimore, as the hiring of new manager Craig Albernaz naturally brought several changes to the coaching ranks.  Anders had been with the O’s since November 2019, working as a development coach in the minors before his promotion to the big league staff prior to the 2024 season.

As outlined by reporter Jon Meoli during Spring Training 2022 (hat tip to Nusbaum for the link), the development coach role is something of an analytically-driven version of a traditional coaching job.  “They must be competent enough on the field to coach and help players improve, yet deft enough with data and technology to be the affiliate’s in-house analytics expert,” Meoli wrote.  This applied to Anders’ background when he broke into baseball at Radford University, and he moved onto internship and trainee roles with the Royals and Reds before being hired by the Orioles.

New Nationals president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has made a point of younger hires and modern perspectives into his overhaul of Washington’s front office and on-field staff.  Toboni (who is himself only 35 years old) has hired 33-year-old Blake Butera as the Nats’ new manager and 30-year-old Simon Matthews as pitching coach, with bench coach Michael Johns as the relative graybeard of the group at age 50.  This group will now try to turn around a Nationals club that has struggled through six straight losing seasons, and Anders has some experience due to his work in helping the Orioles get through their rebuild period.

Nationals Re-Sign Erick Mejia

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Infielder-turned-pitcher Erick Mejia is back with the Nationals on a minor league deal, reports Matt Eddy of Baseball America. The former shortstop converted to pitching last season and reached Triple-A by the end of the year.

After logging a single inning on the mound at Triple-A in 2024, Mejia truly began his pitching journey this past season. He opened the year in Single-A, posting an impressive 33.3% strikeout rate over 12 innings. Mejia earned a couple of saves and a win with Fredericksburg. He moved up to Double-A and delivered a 2.33 ERA across 24 appearances. Mejia’s strikeouts tailed off, while his walk rate spiked to 18.6%, but he limited hitters to a .174 batting average. He found himself back in Rochester by August, though he was knocked around for 12 earned runs in 10 innings. Mejia’s walk rate remained a bloated 18%.

Seattle signed Mejia as an international free agent in 2012. He was obviously still a shortstop back then. Mejia climbed through the Mariners’ system with a strong hitting profile and a bit of speed. He was dealt to the Dodgers in January 2016 for Joe Wieland. Mejia upped his base-stealing with the Dodgers, but reached Triple-A for just a game. He was dealt again in January 2018, this time to Kansas City in a three-team trade headlined by Joakim Soria. Mejia debuted with the Royals in 2019. He went 5-for-22 over nine games. Mejia got another brief shot with the big-league club during the shortened 2020 season, going 1-for-14 in eight appearances.

After a season at Triple-A with Seattle in 2022, Mejia landed with the Nationals. He struggled mightily at the plate in two seasons at Triple-A with the organization. A 61 wRC+ in 66 games with the Red Wings in 2024 prompted the position switch. Given Mejia’s intriguing strikeout numbers in the minors, along with Washington’s current trajectory, it’s not unthinkable that he could find himself on a big-league mound in 2026.

Photo courtesy of Jim Rassol, Imagn Images

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