Washington

Nationals

After eight years in the Nationals system, Adon might be on the move. Our guess, though, is that he’ll clear waivers. The 26-year-old is just 3-16 with a 6.66 ERA in 26 starts and nine relief appearances at the major league level, and he hasn’t been very successful in Triple-A of late, either. He’s also out of options, making him less attractive to teams looking for pitchers they can move between the minors and majors easily.

The New York Post’s Jon Heyman says it’s a $2 million deal. Rosario has not been getting much love from MLB teams of late, but he did hit a respectable .280/.306/.380 for the Rays, Dodgers and Reds last season. If the Nationals were to make him their third baseman, he could offer some mixed-league value with his ability to hit for average and steal bases. However, he’ll probably be more of a utilityman initially.

Armstrong was effective at the Double- and Triple-A levels in 2024 over 32 appearances with a 3.41 ERA and 65/30 K/BB over 68 2/3 innings of work. The 24-year-old right-hander could compete for a bullpen spot with a good showing in the Grapefruit League.

The deal, which was announced before the new year, is now official. The 32-year-old slugger returns to the Nationals on an absolute bargain of a deal and should add switch-handed thump to the middle of a Nationals’ lineup that looks suddenly imposing. Expect Bell to see most of his action as the club’s designated hitter with Nathaniel Lowe entrenched as the regular first baseman. Bell looks like a nice bargain in early fantasy drafts, currently residing outside the top 350 overall.

Williams was fantastic in 2024 before a flexor tendon injury caused him to miss the final three-plus months of the season. He was 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA prior to that, and the Nationals will hope that he can be a semblance of that hurler in 2025 and 2026. Fantasy managers should probably not bet on it considering his track record prior to the breakout campaign.

Although the Nationals would have preferred to cut ties with him one year through his previous two-year deal, Williams was astonishingly successful in his 13 starts last season, going 6-1 with a 2.03 ERA and a 59/18 K/BB over 66 2/3 innings. He missed the other 3 1/2 months with a flexor tendon strain. We’re skeptical that he’ll remain an effective starter, but given the modest price and the Nationals’ lack of pitching depth, the contract makes sense. The move could mean that DJ Herz or Mitchell Parker opens up in the minors, assuming that Michael Soroka and the rest of the rotation options make it through the spring healthy.

It feels like a nice bargain for the Nationals, who add a legitimate middle-of-the-order slugger to a lineup that desperately needed another one. The two sides are very familiar with each other as Bell spent the 2021 season and the first half of the 2022 campaign with the Nationals before being dealt to the Padres at the deadline. He had a bit of a down season in 2024 and still slashed a respectable .249/.319/.405 with 19 homers and 71 RBI in 145 contests between the Marlins and Diamondbacks. It’ll be interesting to see who gets squeezed out of playing time, as the Nationals already brought in Nathaniel Lowe to be their regular first baseman, so the assumption is that Bell with function as their primary designated hitter. That’s definitely bad news for Juan Yepez and Andres Chaparro.

The 29-year-old slugger should represent a massive upgrade to the middle of the Nationals’ lineup, though his arrival is likely to eat into the playing time of both Juan Yepez and Andres Chapparo. Lowe is arbitration-eligible for the second time this winter and remains under team control through the 2026 season.

The Rangers will receive left-handed reliever Robert Garcia in the return package. Lowe, 29, should represent a major upgrade in production for the Nationals after slashing .265/.361/.401 with 16 homers and 69 RBI for the Rangers during the 2024 campaign. The Rangers seem likely to let new acquisition Jake Burger function as their regular first baseman now that room has been cleared for him.

Soroka struggled in 2024, registering a 4.74 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 79 2/3 innings for the White Sox in 2024. He did have some success as a multi-inning reliever, posting a 2.75 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 36 innings after the White Sox moved him to the bullpen. However, the Nationals plan to try him out as a starting pitcher, and he seems likely to start the season in the rotation. He doesn’t have much fantasy value outside of deep NL-only formats.