Sorting through a crowded outfield rotation

As was the case late last season, the Nats have at least five outfielders and only three spots to play them

Photo by Saúl Martinez / NATS JOURNAL

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – By the end of the 2025 season, the Nationals found themselves with five outfielders on the major-league roster splitting time between three actual spots in the field, each of them young and each of them a potential member of the organization’s long-term plan.

Here in the spring of 2026, the Nats’ decision-makers are new, but the outfield dilemma remains the same. They still have those same five young outfielders (James Wood, Dylan Crews, Daylen Lile, Jacob Young, Robert Hassell III), plus another offseason acquisition with some big-league experience (Joey Wiemer) looking to crack the rotation.

How does Blake Butera intend to spread playing time among them, and how does he decide who will play one position and who will play multiple positions?

“You’ll probably see a majority of guys get their reps in one spot. Then you’ll see a handful of other guys in a different spot every day,” the rookie manager said. “I think part of it is, we have guys we feel really good about. JY was just MLB Network’s No. 4 best defensive center fielder in baseball, so he’ll probably get a lot of reps in center field. But there’s other guys we want to see in other spots and give them some opportunities to see the ball off the bat from different perspectives.”

Things are pretty much set in left field, with Wood the everyday starter unless he needs a day off (or a chance to serve as designated hitter here and there to give his legs a break). And if Young is in the lineup, it’s safe to say the two-time Gold Glove Award finalist will be in center field.

That leaves Crews, Lile, Hassell and Wiemer and only one remaining spot in right field. If Young gets a day off, Butera then has to decide who from that group slides over to play center field.

“That’s tough,” he admitted. “We have a lot of guys. I think Dylan, Hassell, Joey Wiemer. The good problem we have is that we have a lot of guys who can play center field. … Our goal as a group is to have more than just JY on the top-10 center field list. It’s just hard. I wish there were more spots to play them.”

The DH position also provides an opportunity for one of the odd men out to stay in the lineup without playing the field. But Butera also noted today he would like to spread DH at-bats around among all his regulars, using that spot to give everyone an occasional break.

MIXED RESULTS IN LIVE BP
Today’s rounds of live batting practice saw three potential members of the Opening Day rotation (Josiah Gray, Foster Griffin, Miles Mikolas) face hitters on adjacent practice fields. The results were decidedly mixed.

Gray (who only threw one inning) and Griffin (who threw two) enjoyed success against their teammates. Mikolas, however, was roughed up in the first of his two innings.

Facing several lineup regulars, Mikolas surrendered back-to-back homers to Crews and Abimelec Ortiz to begin his first inning, then gave up three straight drives to the warning track to Christian Franklin, Wood and Crews (batting again) before reaching his pitch count for the frame.

Mikolas, who signed with the Nationals shortly after camp began for $2.25 million, bounced back in his second inning of work to retire Hassell, Lile and Wiemer in order.

The session raised a tricky question for Butera: Do you come out of that feeling good about your hitters or concerned about your pitcher?

“It’s tough,” he admitted. “I think for Miles, the second inning was really good. The first inning, he’s also facing some tough hitters. That was our good group of hitters right there. I was happy to see our hitters finally have some success, because I know early on the pitchers were dominating. But are you saying: ‘Great job pitchers, or hitters don’t look good?’ There’s always that back and forth. I’m excited to see them face somebody in a different uniform tomorrow, so going forward we can say all our guys are looking good.”