The Nationals’ offseason quietly got rolling Wednesday with a familiar name choosing a new path.
Veteran catcher Riley Adams has elected free agency, according to Mark Polishuk of MLB Trade Rumors. Major league free agency does not officially open until five days after the World Series, but Adams was eligible to become a minor league free agent after being outrighted off Washington’s 40-man roster this year and because he has more than three seasons of MLB service time.
It is not a shocking development, even if it arrived before the offseason really gets moving. Adams, who Washington acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays in 2021 ahead of the trade deadline in the Brad Hand deal, did not appear in a big league game for the Nationals this season after playing in 83 last year. His place in the organization also had changed considerably, with backup Drew Millas first making the Opening Day roster in 2026 and top prospect Harry Ford later replacing the injured Millas in the middle of the season.
At 30, Adams now heads into free agency with the hope of finding a major league opportunity in 2027. He did put together a productive Triple-A season that could draw some interest.
In 82 games with Rochester, he hit .273/.389/.506 with 16 home runs and 50 RBIs, along with 15 doubles, 80 strikeouts and 41 walks. Those are respectable numbers for a player who was not getting everyday at-bats.
The challenge, of course, is translating that offense to the majors. Adams owns a career OPS+ that sits 20 points below the league average of 100, which makes his Triple-A line worth noting but not enough to guarantee anything.
Catcher is now a spot to watch for Washington this winter. If Adams does not return, Maxwell Romero Jr. looks like the likeliest candidate to move into his place on the depth chart after reaching Triple-A this season and showing some offensive upside despite concerning underlying numbers.
In Other News...
Nationals Suddenly Have A Backup Catcher Question This Offseason
Riley Adams is heading into free agency after the 2026 season, leaving the Nationals with another offseason catching decision to sort through. Adams had been part of the organization for parts of five seasons, mostly filling the familiar role of backup and depth option, but his place on the depth chart became less certain as the year went on.
The bigger issue for Washington is how thin the catcher picture can look once you get past the established name at the top. Adams had long been one of those players the club could lean on for stability in a pinch, but the Nationals moved in another direction during 2026, a reminder that his status had shifted from useful option to replaceable organizational piece. With free agency now here, the club has to decide how much it still wants that kind of insurance. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Face One Bullpen Question Toboni Cant Dodge
The Nationals season showed a familiar split between promise and frustration: a lineup good enough to keep them in games, and a bullpen that too often could not finish the job. Even with a better ERA than the year before, Washington kept giving away late leads, and the result was a year defined less by how often the offense scored than by how often the relief corps could not protect those runs.
That leaves the front office with one offseason issue it cannot really sidestep, no matter how much the rest of the roster improves. Washington needs at least one dependable late-inning arm, whether it comes from outside the organization or from someone already in the system stepping into a larger role, because the gap between a competitive team and a frustrating one has been measured in the final outs. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Are Betting Big On A Pitching Fix Years In The Making
The Nationals have spent years searching for a cleaner path to better pitching, and now the organization is leaning into a more deliberate fix. As part of its broader push toward the 2027 season, Washington is planning a stronger development structure that starts in the minors, where a strength-and-conditioning camp is intended to become part of the foundation for future arms.
At the major league level, the club also wants a more detailed program aimed at helping pitchers add velocity, a sign that the front office sees physical development as only part of the equation. There is also an effort to improve the pitching lab, with an eye toward sharper pitch design and the kind of pitch-mix expansion that can make relievers more effective, which shows how much of this overhaul is about building depth as much as chasing ceiling. [Read more 🡒]