Washington Nationals Outfield OVERHAUL Looms | Will Robert Hassell III Be TRADED?

Washington Nationals Outfield OVERHAUL Looms | Will Robert Hassell III Be TRADED?

If I’m the Washington Nationals entering this off season, I would be looking to make some moves. But the position group that I think is most likely to see making some trades is the outfielder group. [Music] You are locked on nationals. Your daily Washington Nationals podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. And thank you all for making Locked On Nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast. And yes, I am your host Ryan Clary. I am your nationals insider here with Locked On Nationals, part of the Locked On Network, where it’s your team every single day. And later on in today’s program, we have have a discussion surrounding game five tonight. But also, I want to look at the NL East because right now the National League East might be crumbling after the Phillies. Oh, the poor Phillies lost last night in just awful, awful fashion. So, we got to discuss that later on in the show today. But I’m going to tell you why that I believe that the Washington Nationals will be making trades. And with that in mind, I think they will be trading one of the Nationals pretty key outfielders. I’ll tell you who that is. But today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. And right now, new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. So download the app today. So I expect that the Tabone era will be started this season and they will be making changes. We discussed some of the off-field changes yesterday as some of those moves are still happening as we speak today. But right now, I want to talk about the onfield guys and the players and more importantly the outfielders. This is a very loaded position. And right now, if you’re Tabone and the rest of the Nationals organization, you feel good about Dylan Cruz in center field. you feel great about James Wood and left field for the duration of the future here. And then you also feel great about where Don Mile is. Those are your three positions that you will not see touched at all this off season, at least in my opinion. But where things get interesting is some of the minor leaguers that the Nationals have. If you look at some of their top prospects, all of them are outfielders at this point. I think of guys like who’s not a prospect anymore, but Robert Hassel III. Where does he fit in this equation? He is the one guy at this point on this team today that I would say there is a very good chance that he is traded this off season. And here’s why. Smart GMs and smart baseball minds out there look at a loaded position group like the outfield for the Nationals for instance here. You look at this group and you’re like, well, you’ve got four to five guys, including Jacob Young and Robert Hassel and the three that we’ve already mentioned earlier on, and these are all valuable pieces. These are not people or pieces that should just be sitting down in the minors. Like, yes, you could make the case for the Nationals having Robert Hassel III help if Dylan Cruz were to get hurt or if Dalon Lyall or if James Wood or if Jacob Young got hurt. You could make that case today and obviously that would mean a lot to have Robert Hassel thei down in Triple A just waiting for that opportunity. But you could also make the case of having someone as valuable as him and using that value elsewhere via trade. If you were to trade a Robert Hassel the third, well, number one, this is someone who is still has his uh his contract or still is his rookie status intact from this season. Number one, but also number two, he is obviously valuable and obviously a major leaguer in my opinion. that is someone that you could move off of and get some really good returns at a December winners meetings maybe with the GMs across the sport. Whether it be a team looking for a fourth outfielder, whether it be a team having a really young rebuild and wanting to give him an opportunity to play center field or right field or left field, wherever it could be, he’s proven that he could play any position in the outfield. I see that happening right now. And even if it’s not Robert Hassel III, there are a lot of conversations surrounding other pieces in this Nationals outfield. Andrew Pinkney is the first one that I think of right now as far as some Nationals prospects down in the minor leagues. And there are a couple more that we’ll jump into in just a few minutes. But where Andrew Pinkney is right now, this is someone who was a fourth round pick back in 2023, which was a pretty good nationals class in that MLB draft. obviously, but Pinkney has performed at each and every single level. In this season, he may have just put together his best minor league season from start to beginning because when he was drafted, he worked his way up to DA Harrisburg in that 2023 season. Last year, spent time in Harrisburg and then got shipped up to AAA Rochester around when James Wood got called up last summer. Andrew Pinkney is one of those guys where I look at him and the idea of him really makes sense and this season had 20 home runs, stole 34 bases. Like that does not come around too often. And that right there is value in itself. And the second half that he had in Triple A was probably the most impressive feat of Andrew Pinkney’s career. And also, by the way, he plays great defense. Maybe the Nationals look at him at this point and say, “Well, you got to have someone down there.” And we may just pick Andrew Pinkin to be that guy to just kind of marinate down in the miners, add him to the 40man roster eventually so he doesn’t get plucked away by another team and when his time is coming because of course injuries are going to happen this year. You saw it with Cruz. James Wood could get banged up. Don Lyle could get banged up. He certainly had some injuries in the past like a torn ACL back in high school that he recovered from and also you’ve seen him with a back injury at last year’s spring training. But Andrew Pinkney is kind of one of those guys where we don’t necessarily talk about him too much. But I can tell you this, the old Nationals regime loved this guy. They thought that he was one of the most tools outfielders in their system. So, I expect a savvy new group here with Tabone to look at him and probably say the same thing. Some people get too lost in the numbers in my opinion, but if you just look at the tools of what Pinkney provides this team, power, speed, good defense, he gets on base. He’s got some power and again is that kind of five tool player who obviously is not going to come up here and hit 30 home runs and steal 40 bases for this team, but obviously he has some talent that can certainly help you. Kind of reminds me of like that Michael A. Taylor profile, the power, the speed, and also really good defense. That’s what Pinkney kind of reminds me of. And so, if I were to kind of put Robert Hassel the third and Andrew Pinkney together at this point, I think that you could probably get more value in return for Robert Hassel the third. That’s why I think I would rather trade him away and keep Andrew Pinkney down in the minor leagues, at least just for now. And maybe the Nationals go out there this season, they’re like, “You know what? We’re gonna go shop Jacob Young. We think Jacob Young is going to get the most value in return. This is someone who is legitimately one of the best outfielders in all of baseball. A great arm, covers a ton of space out in center field, and would probably win a a gold glove on a winning ball club. He certainly should have been in the conversation last year. he was was a a gold glove finalist in center field really should have won the award but looking at where he is today I think that he’s just an fourth outfielder and maybe if you tap into some talent if he gets his OPS right around 700 or so or even like a 680 to a 700 in that area that is someone that you could play each and every single day but as far as like Andrew Pinkney goes another guy like a Christian Franklin These are kind of pieces that you might want to retain and you might want to hold on to, but for how long? This outfield group right now is so loaded and it’s so deep and they do have those waves of guys that will be coming up to the majors probably in the next few seasons. So, at some point, you’re gonna have to look at this group and say, “Well, we’re gonna have to move off of some of them.” And we’re gonna have to move that value that we have in the outfield and spread it around the diamond. Whether it be having pitching prospects come back in return for some of these guys, whether it be first baseman, corner infielders, middle infielders, catchers, those are the positions that where the Nationals probably need the most from at this point. Their outfield group is really good. Again, you’ve got the waves of prospects. These are guys that we haven’t even talked about like a Sam Peterson type who killed the ball in Wilmington this season. You’ve got guys like Christian Vicero who was one of the better defensive center fielders in all of minor league baseball this season with the FredNats. And you have some guys like way down the road. I mean, obviously we mentioned a lot of these guys over the years, but you understand the point. I think right now with where the Nationals are defensively and where they are really with their outfield group, you could move off of some of these guys and get some value in return and place it elsewhere. If I’m Tabone right now, I’d be working the phones this sometime this November, December, January, whatever it could take, and I’d be trying to work a trade with some of these outfielders who are major league ready. Like again, Andrew Pinkney probably major league ready at some point this upcoming season. Christian Franklin, in my opinion, was major league ready and could have gotten the call up. Robert Hassel the third obviously major league ready and is ready to make that jump into the majors and have a full-time position. Jacob Young though, that’s your fourth outfielder in your three spots right now in the outfield. They’re all locked up. So, I expect right now that the Nationals will be making some trades. And if they do make some trades, it’s going to start in the outfield. That is your most loaded group. And maybe you want to keep your strength, the strength of your organization, which is the outfield group at this point. But you have to spread out this value elsewhere in my opinion. Especially for a team that has lost 90 plus games in each of the past four seasons at this point, five seasons. Lost track at this at this time, unfortunately. But that’s where I see this team going. And I do believe they will be pretty aggressive on the trade market this offseason. Whether it be getting talent and back in return of prospects or vice versa, expect them to work the phones, especially when it comes to the outfield market. Speaking of some things that you might expect though, you might expect the NL East to be really good because quite frankly, that was one of my fears for the Nationals is that if you look around the NL East, this is a loaded division. But is it? Let’s talk about that after this. And now, let’s tell you about our friends at FanDuel. The NFL season is here and FanDuel has an offer that you don’t want to miss. And right now, new customers can bet just $5 and get 300 in bonus bets if you win. That’s right. Pick a bet, put down five bucks, and if it hits, you’ll unlock $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. And I love how FanDuel gives me so many ways to play. I built parlays, tried player props, and even followed the live lines during games. Like for instance, last night, Cam Scataboo, multiple touchdowns. I had him as a two plus touchdown score in yesterday’s game with a Giants money line, but also a Jaylen Herz anytime touchdown score. And man, was that game fun to watch to watch the Eagles lose, but also win my money back with FanDuel. So, it makes watching football just that more exciting. And when you’ve got a little something riding on the action, it’s just incredible. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Again, that is fanduel.com and download America’s number one sportsbook. Again, visit fanuel.com. And we are back as I am your host Ryan Clary. You can catch me over on Twitter at Ryanclary 11. And if you have not done so already, look up Locked on Nationals wherever you get your podcast. The NL East, this is something that honestly I don’t really think a lot of people expected, but could the NL East be crumbling as we speak? As we saw in last night’s game, the Philadelphia Phillies, those poor Phillies, poor, poor Phillies, lost in epic just fashion. For those of you who have missed it, let’s just talk about that real quick. In the 11th inning, you saw one of their main bullpen pieces, Orian Kirkering is how you pronounce his name. And this is someone who is actually pretty solid for the Phillies this season. We saw him go against the Nationals a handful of times, but with bases loaded and with Andy Pahes up at the plate, there was a ground ball with two outs, bases loaded, bottom of the 11th inning, tied ball game, winner go home game for the Philadelphia Phillies. And if they won, they’re going back to Philly. So, that’s a big deal for them. And in that situation, Pahz hit the dribbler back up to the middle. Uh Orian, he kind of fumbles it a little bit and panics and throws it home and threw it right over JT Realm Muto’s head. Just an epic loss. And I think that loss really just kind of puts together of what could be happening to the NL East right now. The NL East, in my opinion, is still one of the better divisions in all of baseball. I think the NL East will be very good this upcoming season. We could talk about the AL East. I think they’re in the same category. The NL West could be okay as well, but the NL East is a very good, very competitive division. If you look at it this season, obviously the Mets did not live up to expectations, but let’s get into what could be happening in 2026. The Phillies MVP was Kyle Schwarber. he is going to be a free agent this off seasonason. And there is a lot of speculation surrounding some big market teams that could be going after him, including like the Chicago Cubs who have a game five coming up in tomorrow’s Saturday slate for playoff baseball. You got the Cubs in on him. I mean, I’ve seen people talk about the Reds. I don’t think that will happen, but I certainly see that being a possibility. It’s a hometown kid there in Cincinnati. You could talk about a team like the Astros maybe who could use him. The New York Mets who is an NL East team obviously maybe the Yankees or the Red Sox could be in on Kyle Schwber. I think there is a real chance the Phillies lose Kyle Shore and that is obviously going to hurt them in a big way. And then even further more than that, Christopher Sanchez had an unbelievable season. I think he is a great pitcher, but can he replicate this going forward? I’m not so sure. Let’s talk about the Mets. Now, this is a pretty simple thing to explain in my opinion. I believe in sports curses. I genuinely do. I believe it with my NFL team here with the formerly the Washington Redskins, now the Commanders. Like, good things do not happen to our team. It’s just simple as that. Being a Commander fan, the New York Mets are in that same sphere at this point. The New York Mets cannot get out of their own way. Whether it be epic bullpen collapses, whether it be really bad injuries that are obviously unfortunate, no one’s going to be rooting for that, but weird things happen to them and weird fall-offs happened to them. Having a top payroll in baseball this season did not matter to them. They won 83 games in which they should have won at least 95. And they had this epic blow up that quite frankly was unprecedented from a lot of people in baseball. Everyone expected the Mets to be there at the finish line. But unfortunately or fortunately for us, they blew up and that is what the Mets do. And I love Juan Sodto. I don’t root for him, but I love Juan Sodto. You look at him and what he could provide for a team. Obviously, he’s going to be the ring leader for the Mets and they’ve got talent all over the place. But that captain is Pete Alonzo and he is also a free agent. Maybe he explores the market. I mean, he’s already said it that he will be opting out of his deal. he’s going to explore free agency. And maybe if there’s a team out there that is willing to give him all the money in the world, please Washington Nationals. Maybe that kind of hinders the NL East conversation surrounding the Mets. And maybe they start to fall off a little bit, but who knows with them. I think that they’ve got one of the best owners in all of sports. He’s going to spend money. So, I think they’re a different conversation to be had. But then there’s the Atlanta Braves as well. Obviously, these three teams over the years have just been the cream of the crop of the NL East here. The Braves fell apart with injuries and right now they also have some aging vets and underperforming underperforming vets like an Aussie Albs and an Austin Riley. Aussie Albs this year had a career down year offensively. He did kind of pick it up at the end there, but really was not that good. Ronald Akunia Jr. star player, like Hall of Fame kind of talent, but he cannot stay healthy at this point. Spencer Strider was a shell of himself this year after coming off Tommy John surgery after missing most of 2024 last year. Like, there are some real aging pieces there in Atlanta. And again, you look at that team that won in 2021, they are not the same team anymore. like they took a big swing on Jerks and Proar that didn’t necessarily work out. They’ve got some really good pieces, young pieces like Drake Baldwin who’s going to win the Rookie of the Year this year in the National League. He’s someone that is a big building block for them, but still their pitching lab that was once just brilliant and they were just throwing out top prospects and they were doing great and reaching themselves in SAI young conversations. That was not the case this year. I thought Spencer Schwenbach would be the National League Sai Young winner. That was my prediction before this season. He was not close to that. So, they are even starting to fall apart. But then you have a team like the Marlins. I think the Marlins will be solid in 2026 and they’re going to have some losses added to the Braves and the Mets and the Phillies because I think their pitching will be really good. I say all of this to say that the Nationals will not be in the playoffs in 2026, but do not be surprised if they are more competitive. And obviously there’s a whole offseason of playoff here. Like you got to add, you got to get better. Kabone is going to have to really just kind of reach in his bag and hopefully pull out a diamond for this team. We don’t know if we can do that at this point. Is that sustainable? Those are all questions that we have right now and they’re fair questions at this point. But the things that we cannot control, I kind of looking into my Magic Aball and I’m seeing the Braves kind of fall apart a little bit. I’m seeing the Phillies potentially losing one of their clubhouse guys and Nick Castanos falling apart and some of their pitching who may be over overperformed this season. I look at that and the Mets, they’re just the Mets. They’ll be solid, but they’re not going to win in October. I guarantee you that much. I don’t know. Maybe I find myself being extra positive after watching the way the Phillies lost last night. And again, it was incredible to say the least. But the NL East, as talented as it is, there is some room for kind of falloffs to happen. I do expect that this season. The NL East, in my mind, is still one of the better, most competitive divisions in all of baseball. In some of these rivalries within the division, a lot of teams like to beat up on one another, and it just doesn’t, obviously, this is every division in baseball, but I do think it is a little more special with the NL East with big markets like New York and Philly, Atlanta, DC, then you have Miami doing what whatever they are doing. So, watch out for that going forward though. I would be really interested to see what happens across the anal east this season. And what we thought was a big mighty scary National League East for probably the next five plus years may not be that way anymore. And last night with the Phillies and the way that they lost could be a sign of new times coming for the Washington Nationals in the NL East. But let’s get into some game five action tonight. I know we don’t really talk too much about other teams in there, but the Nationals still have a dog in this fight, and that dog is Kyle Finnegan. What do you get when you have a bald eagle standing on top of a silverback gorilla riding a T-Rex? Confidence. Pure confidence. And if you’re looking for something beyond the usual pill, it’s time to meet Rouette. Go long. And yes, I have told you guys about Rouette and I want you guys to be as confident as you can and that’s exactly where Rouette Golong comes in. This is not just another ED pill. It’s a total gamecher for confidence and Golong combines two doctor trusted medications in one dualaction formula so you can get hard and go the distance. The effects can last up to 36 hours. That is confidence all day, all night, and even into the next day. 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And that’s because Howie Kendrick, Washington Nationals legend, grand slam, top of the 10th inning, take the top off Dodger Stadium. So, good things for those game fives, at least in some cases. But in tonight’s matchup, you have got just an incredible pitching matchup in my opinion. Tariq Scooble against George Kirby. A pitching matchup that everyone will want to look forward to. And his one start this postseason. He had five innings pitched and eight punches for Kh for Kirby there. And then Tariq Scooel. I mean, is there a better pitcher that you want in a big-time situation than your reigning Sai Young winner? He’s probably going to win it again this year. And in his two starts so far this postseason, he has 23 strikeouts in 14 and two/3 innings with a 082 whip. I mean, come on. Just stupid numbers from Scooball at this point. This is going to be one of those fun fun matches. But for Nationals fans out there, we do have a dog in this fight. In fact, we’ve got two dogs in this fight. You got Victor Robles who will be at some point in this lineup tonight with the Mariners. Whether he’s batting seventh, eighth, or ninth, he’ll be in there. And then you also have Kyle Finnegan who’s just traded to the Tigers and he is used in a very fascinating way. So with Kyle Finnegan, the other we have seen him go multiple innings pitched at a time. when he was with the Nationals and he came in the eighth inning and then had a comeback in the ninth inning, I would go to FanDuel and I would bet like, oh, the opposing team is going to win this game. He could not survive multiple innings with this team. But he has changed up his approach with the Tigers. He is throwing primarily splitters with them and it has worked. He has been really good for the Tigers so far. So, he is going to pitch, I would think, at some point in this game. But if I’m the Tigers and if I’m AJ Hinge, I am riding Scooble until his arm falls off. This is your ace and you have got to lean on him in this situation. Yes, you may be thinking about the ALCS and like, oh, he might not be able to pitch until game three or game four. Does not matter. You have to win tonight. So, if I’m the Tigers, I’m riding Scooble and maybe you see Finnegan come in, but if he gets into some trouble early on and the Tigers decide to pull the plug and they go with the bullpen game, Finnegan has been used in that fifth, sixth inning role and he’s been eating up some good quality innings for them. And on the flip side of it, Victor Robless, Victor Robless is someone that I think will be a pretty key part in tonight’s game. And just by the way, I feel like it’s the most Victor Robless thing ever if he were to have some massive playoff moment tonight. And if you look at him, I mean, again, the other day he had two walks for the for the Mariners there. He had that one big hit on the previous game before that and game two of the series or game three, I believe, actually, now that I think about it. But Victor Robas could be playing a key part in this. So, if I’m the Nationals and their fans right now, you got some dogs in the fight tonight. Kyle Finnegan with the Tigers. We love Finny. Then also Victor Robas, a 2019 World Series champion. He’s been there. He’s done that. Being that kind of clubhouse leader there, that’s going to be something for him. So, we’ll see what happens tonight in game five of that ALDS series between the Mariners and the Tigers. Cannot wait for that action tonight. And then don’t miss it. It’ll be on Fox. So, I will catch you guys on the flip side, though. We are here at the end of today’s show. Have a good one. Go Nats.

Could the NL East be crumbling? Washington Nationals’ outfield depth sparks trade rumors as division rivals face uncertain futures.

Ryan Clary analyzes potential Nationals trades, focusing on outfielders like Robert Hassell III, Jacob Young, and others. He examines the state of the NL East, discussing the Phillies’ playoff exit, Mets’ struggles, and Braves’ concerns. Ryan previews Game 5 between the Tigers and Mariners, highlighting former Nationals Kyle Finnegan and Victor Robles. Clary explores how these developments could reshape the division’s competitive landscape.

Tune in for insider insights on the Nationals’ trade strategy and a comprehensive breakdown of the NL East’s shifting dynamics.

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0:00 Intro: Nationals likely to trade outfielders

5:06 Andrew Pinkney’s potential trade value

10:13 Nationals should spread outfield value elsewhere

15:19 NL East teams facing potential decline

20:55 Nationals may be more competitive in 2026

25:30 Game 5 preview: Skubal vs Kirby