The first major roster decision of the Paul Toboni era was back in late November when the Washington Nationals tendered contracts to all seven of their arbitration-eligible players, along with agreeing to a one-year deal with catcher Riley Adams.
One of those players was infielder Luis Garcia Jr., who may be one of the more intriguing choices for Toboni with the infielder as the longest-tenured member of the organization entering 2026. But where he fits in is the biggest question mark.
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Garcia made his first career start at first base in his 600th career Major League game during the 2025 season after primarily playing second base and rotating in at shortstop before eventually starting two of the final five games at first. Prior to that, Garcia started 120 games for the Nationals at second base where he adjusted to the new role to end the year.
“It’s a different position, different bases. The angle is what makes the difference,” García told media in his first game after moving to first base. “I was trying to stop the ball, keep the ball right in front of me and make the play. All the plays that were thrown at me, I felt good.”
First base remains a question mark for Toboni and new general manager Ani Kilambi with Garcia a candidate to fill that role. Toboni told the Washington Post and other media during the Winter Meetings that Garcia would remain at first base through winter leagues because he “believes it’ll make him more versatile,” per Andrew Golden.
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But Garcia has lined up exclusively at second base with 14 appearances for the Gigantes del Cibao this winter, adding one home run and nine RBIs against five strikeouts and 66 at-bats, hitting .367 in the process.
Whether that’s a sign that first base isn’t a realistic move remains unclear with competition on his winter league a possibility, but where the fit in the Nationals’ infield remains to be seen amid a slow developing offseason. Now, with the youngest front office in baseball now finalized, the Nationals are tasked with answering exactly that ahead of the year one of the rebuild.
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While excitement grows around the acquisition of new catcher Harry Ford, who Toboni has pointed to as “an impactful defensive catcher” in time, MLB.com pointed to Luis Garcia Jr. as a “bounce back” candidate to watch in 2026.
“García is the Nationals’ longest-tenured player at just 25 years old, and he has been through up-and-down seasons in Washington. He is coming off a 2025 performance in which his production dipped and he posted a .252/.289/.412 slash line with a .701 OPS, 16 home runs, 66 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. His bWAR last season was 0.4 compared to 2.2 in 2024. In 2026, García will play for a new manager for the first time in his career. Blake Butera could give García some looks at first base, where he gained experience last season and has been getting reps in during the Dominican Winter League,” Jessica Camerato of MLB.com wrote.
Garcia is on a one-year, $7.8 million contract.