Dylan Crews spent his third major league season trying to steady a career that still hasn’t matched the expectations that came with him into professional baseball. By the end of 2026, the Nationals had seen enough flashes to keep the door open, but not nearly enough consistency to call him a sure thing.
The year started with a setback. On March 20, Washington optioned Crews to Triple-A Rochester after he hit .103 in his first 12 spring games. It was a rough way to begin what was supposed to be a defining season for him, but it also reflected the reality that his bat still had work to do.
Crews answered with a productive stretch in Rochester. He hit .258/.345/.432 with five home runs in 41 games, and over his final 17 games there he batted .308 with a .585 slugging percentage while trimming his strikeout rate to 22.5 percent. That earned him another shot with the Nationals in mid-May.
The return to the majors did not immediately change the story. In his first 25 games back, Crews hit .189 with a .567 OPS.
The power and bat speed were there at times, but the contact issues kept dragging him down. He was hitting the ball harder than ever, but also swinging and missing at a career-high clip.
July gave Washington a better version of Crews. He drew 14 walks that month and finished with a .372 on-base percentage and an .801 OPS.
That kind of patience mattered. He was giving himself more chances to get on base and create damage instead of living and dying with the hit tool alone.
August, though, pulled him back the other way. His OPS fell to .558, and he managed just one home run in 28 games. The gains from July did not carry over.
There was a late push of sorts in September. By September 9, six of his previous seven hits had gone for extra bases, including five doubles. He also homered and scored three runs in the Nationals’ September 25 win over the Mets.
For the season, Crews finished with a .223 average, 13 home runs, 44 RBI, 12 stolen bases and a .663 OPS. That was better than his 2024 and 2025 production, but still far short of what the Nationals need from a player drafted to be part of the foundation.
That leaves Washington with a familiar question: how much longer do they keep treating Crews like an everyday answer? The talent is obvious, and the pedigree still matters. But the struggles, especially against right-handed pitching, make it hard to simply hand him the job and assume it will sort itself out.
The Nationals did show plenty of confidence in him during the back half of 2026, batting him near the top of the lineup even against righties. Paul Toboni has also said they view Crews as a key piece of their competitive rosters in the future.
Still, through 225 big league games over three seasons, Crews has not shown the kind of growth that points to a breakout being right around the corner. He is also edging closer to arbitration, which will bring a significant raise from his current salary.
The simplest path may be one more chance in 2027 to prove he can handle a regular role. But if the Nationals decide they need to explore another route, whether that means a trade this offseason or using him only in a platoon role against lefties during the season, that would not be hard to understand. If Washington is serious about taking a step toward contention in 2027, every roster spot has to pull its weight - and Crews still has to show he can be one of them.
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For Washington, the issue is less about one bad night than a larger roster problem that has followed the organization through its rebuilding phase. Paul Toboni has already put the responsibility on the front office for the bullpens shortcomings, which is the right kind of ownership, but the harder part is turning that admission into a workable relief corps. Until that changes, the Nationals will keep facing the same uncomfortable question every contender eventually has to answer: who can be trusted when the game is on the line? [Read more 🡒]
Former Nationals Are Suddenly Giving Fans Unexpected Postseason Reasons To Watch
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For a fan base still tracking the next core in D.C., it is the sort of postseason detail worth keeping an eye on because it links the present to a recent past that never fully settled in Washington. Calls status remains one of the few open questions as the Dodgers move deeper into October, while Hills spot with the Phillies gives the Nationals another former player to watch as the bracket tightens and every roster decision starts to matter a little more. [Read more 🡒]