Washington Nationals Top Five Offseason Priorities

Replace Wilson Ramos at Catcher

The Washington Nationals would have likely made a strong effort to re-sign Wilson Ramos before he tore his ACL last month. The 29-year-old catcher was putting the finishing touches on the best season of his seven-year career, slashing .307/.354/.496 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI.

The injury not only prevented Ramos from playing in the postseason, but it threw a major wrench into his impending free agency as well. He would have been clearly the best catcher on the market, and now he’s probably going to have to wait to get signed. The Nats could consider extending him the one-year qualifying offer in hopes that he’ll want to prove his health and rebuild his value, but $17 million is a lot to pay for someone who might only play half the season. An AL team with the DH seems increasingly likely as a landing spot for him.

So what should they do instead? Like this year’s free agent class in general, the crop of available catchers isn’t particularly inspiring. Matt Wieters leads the group, but he managed a pedestrian .711 OPS this season and has an injury history of his own. A five-year deal with him seems destined to turn sour.

The most reasonable strategy might be to give youngster Pedro Severino the opportunity to take the job. The 23-year-old made only 34 plate appearances this year, but he performed quite well in the cameo, slashing .321/.441/.607 with two homers. In 82 games at Triple-A, he slashed .271/.316/.337. The Nats’ top-ranked catching prospect as per MLB Pipeline, it may be time to see what he can do in a regular role.

No matter what, it seems very unlikely that Washington will be able to replicate Ramos’ production out of the catcher’s spot in 2017. They will have to hope they can make up the difference elsewhere.

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