Game 49: Mets at Nats

A new-look Nationals team with Dylan Crews in center field faces New York tonight. Plus, news about the demotions of Brady House and Joey Wiemer.

It’s a big day here at Nationals Park, where Dylan Crews is set to make his season debut at the big-league level following his promotion from Triple-A Rochester. It’s also a big day because Brady House is no longer here, the young third baseman having been optioned to Rochester to make room for Crews.

And those weren’t the only moves the Nats announced. They’ve also optioned Joey Wiemer to Triple-A and recalled Andrés Chaparro, which ultimately means they’ve swapped one outfielder for another and one corner infielder for another. Much more on all the day’s news when you scroll down past the lineup.

This is also a big day for the Mets, who have called up McLean native and Gonzaga College High School alum Nick Morabito to make his MLB debut in left field. The 23-year-old was a second-round pick in the 2022 draft and was hitting .253/.364/.390 in 41 games at Triple-A Syracuse.

Meanwhile, Foster Griffin gets the ball for the Nats, and boy do they need some length from the left-hander given the current state of the pitching staff. He failed to complete five innings for the first time this season in his last start. They are likely going to push him for more than that tonight, with no roster changes to the bullpen in spite of Monday night’s chaos.

NEW YORK METS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 6:45 p.m. EDT
TV: Nationals TV (channel listings)
Radio: 106.7 FM
Weather: Chance of storms, 87 degrees, wind 9 mph out to left

METS
RF Carson Benge
SS Bo Bichette
DH Juan Soto
1B Mark Vientos
2B Marcus Semien
CF Tyrone Taylor
LF Nick Morabito
3B Brett Baty
C Luis Torrens

RHP Nolan McLean

NATIONALS
RF James Wood
1B Luis García Jr.
DH José Tena
SS CJ Abrams
LF Daylen Lile
CF Dylan Crews
3B Jorbit Vivas
C Drew Millas
2B Nasim Nuñez

LHP Foster Griffin

PREGAME NOTES

Photo by Billy Sabatini / ALL-PRO REELS

CREWS RETURNS, WIEMER OPTIONED, YOUNG OK

As expected, Crews was thrust right into the Nationals’ lineup, starting in center field and batting sixth tonight against the Mets. The club welcomed the 24-year-old back from the minors with open arms, and Crews said he returns in a good place both physically and mentally.

At the plate, he began seeing tangible results of the tweaks he made in Triple-A (standing taller in the box, focusing on pitches in the middle of the zone, hitting the ball in the air more) over the last several weeks. In his mind, he admitted he needed a little time following his late-March demotion to come to grips with the decision but has since embraced the challenge.

“You never try to think about being called back up,” he said. “I was just so focused on the process down there and trying to stack good days together and be present as much as I could. But I feel like things were definitely working in my favor down there.”

Crews is starting in center field tonight, but manager Blake Butera said he could move around all three outfield spots. The club now has a regular four-man rotation (Crews, James Wood, Daylen Lile, Jacob Young) that allows for everyone to take a semi-day off when needed to serve only as the DH.

Young, who was hit by a pitch in the left rib cage Monday night, is not starting tonight but appears to be fine and could even be available off the bench if needed. Butera said Young received treatment (including a shot) after the game and was able to go through a full round of hitting drills this afternoon. He’s not 100 percent healthy, but he’s not far from it.

“It’s sore,” the manager said, “but it feels really good.”

All of that left Wiemer as the odd man out, a fifth outfielder among an outfield group that only has playing time for four guys. Though his season totals (.300/.410/.529) still looked impressive, they were inflated by his off-the-charts opening week. Take that out of the equation, and his slash line since April 4 was .208/.311/.358.

“Who knows how long it stays this way, but the way our roster is constructed right now, there was absolutely no playing time for Joey,” Butera said. “But I don’t see that being the case all year long. At some point, I’m sure he’ll be back up here and impact our team again.”

HOUSE DEMOTION CHANGES INFIELD ALIGNMENT

The decision to option House to Triple-A was made when club officials decided the 22-year-old needed to refine several parts of his game in a lower-pressure environment where he can afford to make mistakes without them being amplified.

Despite a hefty .354/.426/.563 slash line against left-handers, House was batting just .174/.220/.330 against right-handers. The team felt he would’ve been reduced to a platoon role if he stayed in the big leagues, which would’ve been counterproductive to his development.

“He could really help this team, but we don’t think it’s really in Brady’s long-term interests – at least right now – to have him be playing just on the short side of a platoon against lefties,” president of baseball operations Paul Toboni said. “This will allow him to go down to Triple-A, play every day and work on a lot of the things he and we think he needs to work on.”

That includes plenty of work at third base, where House was struggling more this season than he did as a rookie in 2025.

“We told him he has the tools to be a major-league third baseman for a long time, and help us for a long time,” Butera said. “Right now, with how our roster’s constructed, I don’t think it’s the best thing for him to fight for his life up here and maybe only play mostly against lefties. He needs to play every day.”

House’s demotion leaves the Nationals with a new third base platoon of Jorbit Vivas (and occasionally José Tena) against right-handers and Curtis Mead against lefties. And with Mead now focusing more on third base, the club decided to promote Chaparro from Triple-A and make him the right-handed half of a platoon at that position with Luis García Jr.

Asked about corner infielder Yohandy Morales, who has a .349/.435/.589 slash line in Rochester, Toboni said: “He’s been great. For me, it’s just continuing to do it. We’re a month and a half into the Triple-A year. He obviously had a great stint in winter ball. And then he didn’t quite have the spring training that he wanted, but now he’s back to raking and playing good defense. It’s just about staying consistent there. And if he does – Yoyo knows it – good things will happen.”