When we have discussed offseason additions, most of the focus has been on the pitching staff. That is for good reason, as the pitching was the clear weak point of the team last year. However, I believe that Paul Toboni does not want to just stand still on the offense.
At the end of this season and during this offseason, Toboni has said that they can’t assume the offense is destined to be as good as it was last year. In an interview with the Nats Chat podcast, he made this point again. I think this is a good point,
and should be acted upon.
It probably does not make a ton of sense to make a huge run at the top position players on the market, with what will not be an unlimited budget. However, if the right opportunity presents itself, Toboni should be willing to jump on it. The offense was very good, but you cannot assume the same sort of success next year.
When the Nats traded Curtis Mead and Luis Garcia Jr., the offense was not quite the same. Both of those trades made sense, but they did leave a mark on this offense. The loss of Garcia was particularly costly, as Abimelec Ortiz did not perform well down the stretch.
If the Nats wanted to make a move on offense, that left handed hitting first base spot would be a place to look. Even if they want to give Ortiz more chances, there should be plenty of guys out there who could compete with him. Spencer Nusbaum wrote an article about the offense, and mentioned a couple targets. Those names included Triston Casas, Kyle Manzardo and Nolan Schanuel.
All of those players would be good competition for Ortiz. Each of these guys have had moments of real success, but have also fallen on hard times. The Nats have shown an ability to rehabilitate these sorts of hitters. With that in mind, I would be happy with one of those bats.
We also talked about the idea of a Dylan Crews trade after the Jacob Young extension. If they did trade Crews, a big league ready first baseman could be something the Nats look for in a return. Sean Keys of the Blue Jays is one name that stands out to me. He is a 23 year old who was phenomenal in the minors last year, but struggled in his first taste of the big leagues. That would be great competition for Ortiz.
Adding offense would become an even more pressing need if the Nats do in fact trade CJ Abrams. The Nats shortstop has seen his name in trade rumors for a long time now. There is some logic to trading him if you are thinking long term, but it would leave a massive hole in the offense for 2027. If a trade does happen, I wonder what Toboni would do to fill the void.
The Nats were top 10 in most offensive categories, and top 5 in many of them. However, they did have fairly good injury luck and traded away some key pieces to that offensive machine. Many fans will ignore the offense and focus on the pitching staff, but I think Paul Toboni is aware that he cannot sit still.
I still believe the biggest moves need to be pitching related, but the offense should not be ignored. Just because they were a great offense last season does not mean it will happen again. James Wood will be back, but there is plenty of uncertainty after that.
It is an under the radar storyline, but what Toboni does with the offense will be worth watching. Despite having a great offensive season last year, there are some holes. We should see prospects such as Seaver King fill some of those, but I do not think the Nationals will ignore the offense just because it was successful last year. Paul Toboni has proven to be a proactive GM, not a reactive one.
