The Washington Nationals 2022 dream lineup

The Washington Nationals won the World Series just two years ago in 2019, but their 2022 team will be much different. In fact, only two position players that played in more than a dozen games remain from that World Series squad (Victor Robles and Juan Soto).

For this, we will look at the Nationals as they current are constructed and look at some free agent additions within reason. The Nationals, for example, are not going to sign Carlos Correa, Freddie Freeman, Trevor Story, Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, and Nick Castellanos. They may sign one or two, but not all six. That’s not realistic.

Lastly, we are assuming that the National League will adopt the DH in 2022 so we do not have a pitcher hitting in this dream lineup.

So let’s dive into the 2022 dream lineup for the Washington Nationals.

The center fielder Lane Thomas would lead off for the Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals acquired Lane Thomas from the St. Louis Cardinals in the Jon Lester trade at the trade deadline last season. Thomas needed a change of scenery as he had not developed like the Cardinals had hoped as he was hitting .104 with an OPS of .384 and an OPS+ of 13 in 32 games.

He did turn it around for the Nationals as he hit .270 with an OPS of .853 and an OPS+ of 133 in 45 games. He put up similar numbers for the Cardinals in a small stint in the majors in 2019 so if he has those kind of numbers for a full season, he would be more than capable of being in the leadoff spot.

Thomas is also still only 26 so he has a couple of years left until he reaches what should be his prime years.

Hitting second for the Washington Nationals, the DH Kyle Schwarber

The Washington Nationals don’t plan on rebuilding and they need some help on offense, so why not go with a player that they already know in Kyle Schwarber?

In 2021 for the Nationals (72 games), Schwarber hit .253/.340/.570 with 25 homers, 53 RBI, and had an OPS+ of 145.

Combined between the Nationals and Red Sox, Schwarber hit .266/.374/.554 with 32 homers, 71 RBI, and an OPS+ of 148.

He’ll likely get around four years in a deal for roughly $18 to $20 million, but the Nationals have shown they have been willing to spend money in the past so they can afford Schwarber. Currently, the Nationals have a payroll of $103 million, per Sportrac. In 2019, with all things considered, the Nationals’ payroll at the end of the season was roughly double that.

I don’t think that they will go that far but they can definitely afford to add more to their payroll.

Hitting third for the Washington Nationals, the right fielder Juan Soto

Juan Soto is the best player on the Washington Nationals and one of the best players in baseball. In 2020, he led the NL in average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage and, in 2021, he led in on-base percentage again while coming in second in National League MVP voting. In his nearly four-year career, Soto has a career 160 OPS+ and a .301/.432/.550 slash line.

You can’t get much better than that and there’s not much more than you can say than that.

Hitting cleanup for the Washington Nationals, the shortstop Carlos Correa

I said at the beginning that this exercise will stay within reason. You may think that it’s not within reason for the Washington Nationals to sign Carlos Correa, but I’m not the only one who thinks that it *could* happen. Just before the lockout, MLB.com said that the Nationals could be a “dark horse” team for Correa.

Carlos Correa is going to want somewhere in the range of 10+ years for a deal and likely with an an average annual value (AAV) of $35 million. If the Nationals (or any other team) want to land the 27-year-old Correa, it’s going to take a big check.

Correa hit .279/.366/.485 (.850 OPS) for the Houston Astros and had 26 homers, 92 RBI, and an OPS+ of 131 in 148 games.

He also has 79 career postseason games and has, essentially, mirrored his 2021 slash line in the postseason. He has a career .272 average with an OPS of .849

It’s a long shot that the Nationals get Correa, but there is a slight chance it could happen. If so, the Nationals’ “dream lineup” would become more of a reality.

Hitting fifth for the Washington Nationals, the first baseman Josh Bell

The switch-hitting first baseman, Josh Bell, was very good for the Washington Nationals in his first season with the team. The Nationals acquired him in December of 2020 for two prospects.

In 2019, he was an All-Star for the Pirates. He hit 37 homers and had 116 RBI with a slash line of .277/.367/.569 and an OPS+ of 142. In 2021, he was much closer to those numbers after a bad 2020 season (82 OPS+). In 2021, he hit .261/.347/.476 with 27 homers, 88 RBI, and an OPS+ of 124.

If he has that kind of a season again, he will be fine in the fifth spot in the lineup.

Hitting sixth for the Washington Nationals, the left fielder Yadiel Hernández

Yadiel Hernández does not have much time in the major leagues, especially considering that he’s 34, but remember that the Washington Nationals signed him out of Cuba when he was 29 in 2017.

He made his MLB debut for the Nats in 2020 but he got more playing time in 2021, as he played in 112 games. He hit nine homers, 30 RBI, had a slash line of .273/.329/.413, and an OPS+ of 103.

In the minors, he has shown a lot more power than that as, in Triple-A in 2019, he hit 33 homers, had 90 RBI, and hit .323/.406/.604 in 126 games.

The Nationals would love to have those numbers translate to the majors but even if he could give them 20-25 homers and 75 RBI, they’d love it, especially if they had Correa and Schwarber in the lineup as well.

Hitting seventh for the Washington Nationals, the catcher Keibert Ruiz

Keibert Ruiz was one of the main pieces that the Washington Nationals got in the trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers in July for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner. Prior to 2021, he was MLB.com’s #57 overall prospect.

Ruiz is a well-rounded catcher as he is a good defender, has a good arm, and his bat has developed for contact and power.

In only 72 games in Triple-A in 2021, he hit 21 homers and had 59 RBI with a slash line of .310/.377/.616. In 23 games at the major league level with the Nationals last season, Ruiz hit two homers and had 14 RBI with a slash line of .284/.348/.395. Ideally, that slugging percentage would be a bit higher but the on-base percentage helped him get a 105 OPS+ with the Nationals.

If he shows more power than he showed at the Major League level last year, he could easily move up in the lineup but for now, he should be in the seventh spot, ideally.

Hitting eighth for the Washington Nationals, the second baseman Cesar Hernandez

The newest acquisition of the Washington Nationals is second baseman Cesar Hernandez. Nationals fans should be familiar with Hernandez as he was with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2013 through 2019.

He spent 2020 with Cleveland and split 2021 between Cleveland and the Chicago White Sox.

In 2021, he was not great at the plate and, if you exclude his 2020 season since it was a truncated season, the last time he had an OPS+ over 100 was in 2017, when it was 110.

This past season, he hit .232/.308/.386 with an OPS+ of 89. Usually, his average is a bit higher than that (.277 career average before 2021) so if that and his OBP are better in 2022, perhaps he and Lane Thomas could switch spots.

He was also good defensively in 2020 as he had 6 DRS and won a Gold Glove but he had -11 DRS in 2021.