Perhaps the biggest question the Nationals needed to answer in the second half of 2025 was which young outfielder would be roaming the grass with James Wood and Dylan Crews in 2026. Among those competing for that final spot are Jacob Young, who excels on defense but not at the plate, Daylen Lile, a promising bat with defensive shortcomings, and Robert Hassell III, who is the 2nd best hitter and 2nd best defender of the trio.
While Young can be a chore to watch hit at times, he is overall a net positive
for the Nationals thanks to his combination of speed and defense. Despite missing a chunk of the season due to injury, he still ranks 98th percentile in OAA (Outs Above Average) among center fielders, routinely making hard catches look easy and impossible plays possible. His speed also makes him a threat on the base paths, an area where he could rebound as he’s been caught 10 times and stolen 14 bags compared to last season, where he was caught 10 times and stole 33 bags.
The issue for Young has been, and likely will continue to be, the bat, as he’s posting career low marks across the board, including a 69 wRC+ and .287 SLG. I’ve said it in the past, and I’ll continue to say it: Jacob Young is the perfect 4th outfielder, and the fanbase will appreciate him much more when that becomes his role rather than the everyday centerfielder the current coaching staff seems to believe he is.
Then there is Daylen Lile, a 22-year-old corner outfielder who, after being ice cold to begin his big league career, has found his stride, posting a 114 wRC+ since July 1st and a 132 wRC+ since August 1st. He’s shown plate discipline well beyond his years, with above-average chase and whiff rates, and has a knack for hitting it where the defense is not. The expected numbers back up the eye test as well, with his .335 xwOBA ranking above acclaimed hitters such as Pete Crow-Armstrong and Mookie Betts.
The biggest issue for Lile has been his defense, as he ranks in the 7th percentile in OAA with -7 and 12th percentile in arm value at -2. He’s already improved from June, when he had a disastrous -5 OAA, to post only slightly below average -1 OAA in July and August, but it’s an area he will need to progress heavily entering 2026. Still, the bat is so far ahead of Young and Hassell that I feel very comfortable with him as the starting right fielder entering next season.
That leaves us with Robert Hassell, who, after starting his 2nd big league stint on a tear, has come back down to earth, posting a 45 wRC+ since August 10th. He debuted a new leg kick in his return, something that’s helped him tap into more power and take more walks, but has also raised his strikeout rate and not improved his overall numbers.
Hassell avoids chasing pitches outside of the zone pretty well, but aside from that, there aren’t many positives to his offensive profile, as he doesn’t make much hard contact and whiffs at a high rate. He plays solid defense in center and right field and has solid speed, but he is outclassed by Jacob Young in both of those categories, with the bat not being so much better as to take the 4th outfielder role from him.
So with Daylen Lile in the 3rd outfield spot and Jacob Young on the bench as the 4th outfielder, where does that leave Robert Hassell III? They could continue with the 5 outfield rotation they have now, but his spot becomes redundant due to Young being the better fielder and baserunner, and it limits flexibility at other positions on the roster, particularly middle infield. They also could send down or trade Jacob Young to make room for Hassell, but that would hurt the roster more than anything as all Hassell outperforms Young in is at the plate (slightly) and in years of control.
This leaves us with the most realistic option and the one that likely needs to happen to one of the young Nats outfielders, which is to trade him. While the return for a player of Hassell’s caliber would not be massive, he could bring back a player of similar character on the other side of the ball, such as a young starting pitcher who used to be a top prospect but has seen their stock dip. A couple of names that make sense to me would be Daniel Espino from the Guardians, Brandon Pfaadt from the Diamondbacks, or Max Meyer from the Marlins, but the packages for each of those players could differ.
Trading Hassell not only allows the Nats to add to their positions of weakness, but it also gives an opportunity for other young outfielders such as Christian Franklin and Andrew Pinckney to be the next man up in case of injury. In Franklin’s case, he is due soon to make his big league debut, as he is 25 years old already and has proved he can hit Triple-A pitching. Whatever choice the Nationals do make in sorting out their outfield logjam, the important thing is that they have found a strong foundation to build around in the future with James Wood, Dylan Crews, and now Daylen Lile.
