Washington Nationals' Outfielder Dylan Crews Draws Trade Interest

The first bit of news surfaced for the Washington Nationals from day one of the winter meetings in Las Vegas, but not about the possibility of adding to the roster, rather due to one former key piece drawing trade interest around the league.

Days after finalizing an extension for center fielder Jacob Young, news broke on Monday that right fielder Dylan Crews has emerged as a popular trade target for general managers. He isn't the only one with teams also reportedly expressing interest in Daylen Lile, though the expectation is the Nationals would need to be overwhelmed to make a move on the outfielder, similar to the feedback surrounding star infielder CJ Abrams through much of the offseason. Yet with a deal done for one and a possibility that James Wood also locks in a new deal following news that the organization will explore a new deal with both Wood and Abrams, whether the front office capitalizes on the outside interest for a player coming off a struggling season now poses a realistic question to answer.

After opening the season in Triple A Rochester following a slow start in spring training, Crews made his regular season debut in mid-May where he went on to draw over 400 at bats across 109 appearances. Despite notching new career highs in multiple categories with a .223 batting average, .289 OBP, .374 slugging and .663 OPS, along with 13 home runs and 44 RBIs, Crews also did so with a career-high strikeout rate and career-worst walk rate and near 45% whiff rate. Crews also led the Nationals with 20 doubles while finishing top five on the team in both runs scored and hits since arriving in the majors in 2026.

With pitching atop the priority list for the Nationals this offseason, whether Crews becomes the piece that the front office opts to move in order to bolster either one of the vacant spots in the rotation or upgrade in the bullpen now becomes the question. While a move also opens the front office to filling his spot in the outfield rotation, the Nationals also have a trio of outfielders within the farm system who could impact the 2027 outfield rotation with Andrew Pinckney, who appeared in 17 games in 2026, among thosee options. Yet after making a handful of minor roster moves including acquiring multiple former San Francisco Giants, where the Nationals now trade the second overall pick from the 2023 MLB Draft now becomes the bigger offseason storyline.