The Nationals’ first-base picture is suddenly crowded in all the wrong and right ways.
What looked like a simple platoon spot has turned into one of the more interesting roster puzzles for 2027, with Abimelec Ortiz, Andres Chaparro and Yohandy Morales all making some kind of case for themselves. Add in Brady House, and there’s real overlap the front office has to sort through before next season.
Ortiz was supposed to slide into the first-base job against righties after the Luis Garcia Jr. trade, but that hasn’t taken hold. In 42 games, Ortiz is hitting .194 with a .592 OPS.
The batted-ball data has hinted at some upside, but the production hasn’t matched it. And the slump has been real: over his last 28 games, he’s hitting just .143 with a .390 OPS.
At 24, he still has time, but he’s also reached the point where the Nationals can’t just hand him a major role without a much better spring.
Even so, Ortiz may not be out of the mix. The Nats have leaned heavily into platoons, and he’s the only left-handed bat in this group.
That gives him a path to more runway. It also leaves open the possibility that Washington looks outside the organization for a left-handed first-base option, though there aren’t many left-handed corner infield types expected to hit free agency.
But the strongest internal case right now belongs to Chaparro. After spending much of the year as a roster afterthought type, he has turned the second half into a real breakout.
Since the break, Chaparro is hitting .292 with 10 homers and a .962 OPS. The 27-year-old has been driving in runs, delivering in key spots and looking like a legitimate big league slugger.
He has arguably been the team’s best hitter in the second half.
What makes that even more compelling is that Chaparro has not been limited to crushing lefties. In 71 at-bats against right-handers, he’s hitting .296 with an .888 OPS.
Those are strong numbers for a hitter who’s often viewed as a platoon piece, and they strengthen the argument that he deserves more than a short-side role. He’s already secured a roster spot for 2027; the real question is whether he’s earned regular playing time.
Based on what he’s done, the answer looks like yes.
Morales has complicated the picture even further. He was putting up strong numbers in Rochester for most of the season, but the front office had reasons to hesitate.
He chases a lot, misses more than you’d like and puts too many balls on the ground. That’s usually a tough profile to trust.
Still, the power played in the minors, and it’s played in the majors too.
Since getting his shot in September, Morales has hit .279 with 4 homers and a .930 OPS in 15 games. He hasn’t drawn a walk yet and he strikes out plenty, but the raw thump has been loud enough to carry the rest.
His 92.5 MPH average exit velocity, 64.5% hard-hit rate and 16.1% barrel rate all jump off the page. The home run he hit yesterday was a perfect example of the kind of power he brings - a right-handed hitter going the other way for a homer in Comerica.
That kind of production has put Morales in the 2027 conversation, but it also creates a logjam. The broadcast mentioned that the Nationals are working on his defense at third base, and Brady House still needs reps there too after looking good since his return from Triple-A. There are only so many at-bats to go around.
That’s why this feels like an offseason decision point for Paul Toboni. Washington could keep Ortiz in the mix, give Chaparro a bigger role, and continue developing Morales.
Or the team could decide one of Chaparro, Morales or even House has enough value to be moved. The offensive overlap is obvious, and the fit isn’t clean.
The Nationals may still want a left-handed bat in the mix, but Chaparro and Morales have both hit well enough to make that assumption harder to defend. Ortiz’s struggles only sharpen the dilemma. However they sort it out, this corner-infield group is now one of the more fascinating pieces of Washington’s offseason.
In Other News...
Nasim Nunez Is Giving The Nationals A Tough Long Term Call
Nasim Nunez has turned speed into a real talking point for the Nationals, and not just because he has been a nuisance on the bases all season. The young infielder has already put himself in the club record book with a stolen-base total that tops Washingtons previous mark, a sign that his running game is more than a novelty and could become a defining part of his value going forward.
For the Nationals, the larger question is how much more there can be behind the wheels and how quickly that package can round into a reliable everyday profile. Nunez has said he wants to keep pushing the stolen-base ceiling higher, but he also knows the next step is getting on base more consistently, which makes the offseason an important one for his development and for Washingtons long-term view of what he can become. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Bullpen Chaos Just Put Yovanny Cruz In A Fascinating Spot
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Yovanny Cruz is suddenly part of that conversation after picking up his first major league save, a small but notable step in a season defined by improvisation. With so many different arms already getting chances in the ninth, Cruzs emergence adds another name to a long list of possible late-inning options, and it leaves Washington with one more intriguing question as it tries to sort out who can be trusted when the game is on the line. [Read more 🡒]
Nationals Depth Suddenly Matters As Rochester Heads To Decisive Game 3
Rochesters path to a decisive Game 3 got a lot rougher after Memphis rolled to a 15-4 win, putting the Red Wings in a hole by scoring all of those runs in just three innings. A nine-run third inning broke things open, and Isaac Lyon took the loss after giving up eight runs in 2 2/3 innings. Rochester did scratch out late runs in the eighth and ninth, with Leandro Pineda driving in two, but the deficit was already too deep by then.
For Washington, the bigger takeaway may be how quickly the organizational picture can shift when the Red Wings need help and the big-league club is sorting through its own depth. Jackson Kent was optioned from Washington, Gus Varland was recalled to Washington, and Kyle Hayes was activated from the Development List, a reminder that the Nationals roster is being tugged in multiple directions at once. Even with Game 3 still ahead, the pitching plan has not been locked in, and both sides appear to be leaning on their usual rotation and usage patterns while leaving the final call hanging. [Read more 🡒]