Could the Washington Nationals sign a free agent to fill their need at first base in 2026?
The Washington Nationals still have roster questions to answer both across its pitching rotation and across the infield with a question as to who will end up playing first base in 2026. While president of baseball operations Paul Toboni has inked a pair of free agents so far this offseason in first baseman Matt Mervis, who agreed to a minor league deal with a non-roster invite to spring training, along with Foster Griffin following a successful three year stint in Japan. But the Nationals may still have a potential free agent target still available with one outlet pointing to Washington as a logical fit with two months to go until the start of spring training.
While projecting the starting lineups around MLB ahead of the 2026 season, Bleacher Report pointed to Luis Arraez as the solution at first base.
Finding a logical landing spot for Luis Arraez is tricky given his unique profile as a contact-oriented player at a power-driven position, but he could be the perfect counterpoint to slugger James Wood, who struck out a staggering 221 times in 2025.
Arraez has his own appeal in the open market despite no imminent deal as the Venezuelan infielder has the highest batting average among active MLB players with his .317 average 14 points higher than the runner-up, while his 3.1% strikeout rate marks the lowest since Tony Gwynn in `995. Arraez is coming off a 2025 complain where he slashed .292/.327/.392 while posting just eight home runs and 61 runs batted in across 154 games. There have been some signs of concern, though.
Some of this regression can be seen in his ability to draw a walk. Arraez has never hunted walks, but he sat around league-average as a Twin between 2019 and 2022, walking 8.7% of the time. When combined with his .314 batting average in Minnesota, Arraez got to flirt with a .400 OBP. That went out the window in Miami in 2023, but his .354 average made up for that loss in walks, as he still got on base 39.3% of the time. Since then, though, he’s had a .337 OBP between 2024 and 2025, which is about 8% above the league average during that time.
Whether the move could be viewed as a realistic possibility remains to be seen with a mid-December report pointing to several clubs still interested in the 28 year old infielder.
"Luis Arraez has drawn interest from up to a half-dozen teams, some of which are looking at him at either first or second base – but the trade market offers a number of alternatives at second," MLB.com wrote.
While Arraez was pointed to as the Nationals' opening day first baseman, veteran Keibert Ruiz remains the projected opening day catcher with all eyes on Harry Ford, who arrived from Seattle in an offseason trade, as he looks to make his push into the lineup as one of the organization's next exciting young pieces.
Bleacher Reports Projected 2026 Nationals Lineup:
SS CJ Abrams
1B Luis Arraez
DH James Wood
LF Daylen Lile
2B Luis García Jr.
3B Brady House
C Keibert Ruiz
RF Dylan Crews
CF Jacob Young