If it was not already obvious, Paul Toboni is going to make a lot of moves this season. The latest one just happened, when he traded for Curtis Mead of the White Sox. Mead is an Australian infielder who split time between first base, second base and third base with the White Sox last year.
Interestingly, Mead was actually traded for Cristopher Sanchez back in 2019. For a while, it looked like the Rays had done
it again, as Mead’s stock soared while Sanchez struggled. However, we now know that the Phillies fleeced the Rays.
The 25 year old Mead was a top prospect at one point, but has struggled to translate his offensive game to the MLB. He will get a chance to do that now with the Nats. It is unclear if he will go right to the big leagues, but I assume he will get a shot at one point.
While Mead is not a great defender, he gives the Nats a versatile piece. He played 31 games at first base, 29 at third base and 17 at second base. I am curious to see what the Nats do with all these utility infielders. It is clearly something they covet, but they have a bit of a log jam now. Jose Tena’s time in DC could be coming to an end soon. He is firmly a DFA candidate now.
Tena was not the man DFA’d though. That was Jake Eder, who the Nats just acquired at the deadline last year. I would not be surprised if Eder cleared waivers and stayed in the Nats organization.
Mead was actually a player who I thought would be a good fit with the Nats when he got DFA’d. Paul Toboni is clearly searching for upside, and Mead’s pedigree gives him that. He has mashed in the minors, with an .878 OPS in over 1,500 career MILB AB’s.
If at least some of that hitting ability can translate to the big leagues, the Nats could have a steal on their hands. However, with over 150 career MLB games, the chances of Mead recapturing that prospect magic he had are fading.
In exchange for Mead, the Nats had to give up Boston Smith, who was a sixth round pick in the 2025 draft. Smith was a senior sign who put up massive numbers at Wright State University. He is a catcher, but his defense is fringy at best.
Hopefully Mead can make an impact for the Nats and play all over the infield for them. We are going to see a ton of these kinds of moves. If guys like Mead and Vivas produce, they will stick around, but if they do not, the Nats are more than happy to replace them.
