"After a rebound in 2024 to good stats at the plate and in the field, the Nats 2nd base situation was well set. Luis Garcia can play there so Luis Garcia will play there. Ideally he would have stepped up again in 2025 but the opposite happened and a slight regression knocked him back to basically average at the plate and 2024 turned out to be the unsurprisingly fluke with the glove. But at least it was something that passed the season without worry."
"What's going on at second is you have a guy who can hit sometimes and doesn't field very well and overall seems only mildly motivated to reach his potential. It's a recipe for a below average 2B that will remain below average but one that isn't forcing you to do anything. If Garcia was better you might try to deal him, but no one is going to give you much for a below average 2B."
"Moving Luis to first and Abrams to second so Nunez (an actual good fielder) might make sense. A .252 / .289 / .412 16 homer line for a first baseman would probably put him at about the same 20-25 range he sits now. The big difference is while at 2nd best he's about 3 wins worse than the 3rd or 4th best 2B despite being 15+ ranks below them, at 1B he'd likely be 4-5 wins worse."
Luis Garcia produced strong offensive and defensive numbers in 2024 but regressed in 2025 to roughly average hitting and diminished defense. The Nationals are likely to keep Garcia at second base with minor free-agent depth or Nunez as a backup, mirroring 2025. Infield spots outside shortstop, catcher, and both starting and relief pitching present larger organizational priorities than second base. Garcia's arbitration status and limited trade value reduce incentive to pursue notable changes. A positional shuffle—moving Garcia to first and Abrams to second with Nunez as a fielder—could be explored but offers only marginal net gain.
Read at Natsbaseball
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