Even after yesterday’s heartbreaking loss, the Nats have had a positive start to the season. If you told me they would be 3-3 heading into the home opener before the season started, I would have taken it in a heartbeat. However, one offseason decision already looks like it is backfiring on Paul Toboni. That would be his choice to not address the first base position externally.
Instead of signing a stop gap first baseman like Mike Rizzo had done the last few years, Paul Toboni chose to try to solve
the position internally. His plan was to convert Luis Garcia Jr. into a first baseman and platoon him with guys like Andres Chaparro and recent waiver pickup Curtis Mead. The problem so far has been that none of these guys are natural first baseman and have really struggled defensively.
We saw this yesterday, with Garcia Jr. really struggling with fairly routine picks. On back to back plays, Garcia was unable to dig out balls that a natural first baseman would likely be able to pick. This was part of what shifted the momentum in yesterday’s game and it was really frustrating. For the season, Garcia already has -2 outs above average at first base.
This should honestly not be all that surprising. Garcia had never played first base in his life until the end of last season. He had been a second baseman for most of his career, but after a rough defensive season in 2025, the new regime decided to move him to first. I understood the decision, but I had some questions. Garcia’s bat is good for a second baseman, but he does not have the power of a typical first baseman. There was also always going to be a learning curve with this position change.
So far, the early returns have not been good. His biggest problem so far has been those scoops. Missing scoops is a pet peeve of mine, and yesterday made me quite frustrated. To get off of Garcia’s back a bit, he has not been the only Nats first baseman to struggle with this. Andres Chaparro looked even worse over there, and that is likely a reason why he got sent down despite looking solid at the plate.
These missed scoops have also made me realize that the Nats have actually been quite good in that area the last few years. Nathaniel Lowe had very limited range, but his scoops were good. Joey Gallo and Dominic Smith had offensive limitations, but were good defenders at first. Right now, that first base defense is not there.
On a team with other defensive issues, a problem at first base is just the cherry on top of this mess. The Nats have a -2 fielding run value so far this season, which is bottom five in the league. They are also tied for the league lead in errors with 9 in 6 games. The Nats have made some outstanding plays, but they have also messed up a lot of the easy stuff.
Don’t get it twisted, I love what Paul Toboni is doing. His long term vision has me bought in, and we are already seeing a team that is playing hard. Several players are showing some real improvements. I also cannot wait to see what he is doing at the minor league level.
However, his decision to not bring in a veteran first baseman looks like it will backfire. I am not sure Garcia’s bat is worth the defensive headache he is bringing. There were plenty of options at the first base position, but Toboni stood pat. If I were him, I would have been all over Munetaka Murakami when his market dried up.
Murakami was projected to get a massive contract, but swing and miss concerns dried up his market. The rebuilding White Sox decided to pounce, and gave him a 2-year $34 million deal. He has much more power upside than Garcia and is more experienced at the first base position. Murakami has already slammed three home runs.
Another veteran option I would have liked is Rhys Hoskins, who ended up settling for a minor league deal in Cleveland. Hoskins put up better offensive numbers than Garcia last season, and he is an actual first baseman. He has his own defensive limitations at the position, but at least he is a big target who knows what he is doing over there.
Hoskins also would have provided the Nats with a righty power bat, which they need. To top it all off, he would have been cheaper than Garcia as well. There were rumors connecting Hoskins to the Nats, but they never came to be and now he is off to a hot start with the Guardians.
It is early, but it seems like the Nats probably should have moved on from Garcia this offseason if they did not trust him to play second base. A big target at first who can pick the ball is an important thing for a young infield. You do not want guys like Abrams and House getting discouraged after making errors on plays where the first baseman should have picked the ball.
Abrams has been a lot better defensively this season, but was charged with his first error of the season on a throw that Garcia should have scooped. There were better and even cheaper options than Garcia at the first base position, but the Nats decided to stick with him. Hopefully, he can improve defensively as the season goes along, but this feels like a very avoidable problem the Nats have created for themselves.
