Notes on a new minor league free agent deal, a new minor league coach and free agency speculation:

New minor league signing…the Washington Nationals reportedly added another bat to the roster on Thursday, this time signing third baseman Warming Bernabel to a one-year minor league agreement with an invitation to spring training included. Bernabel, a 23-year-old third baseman out of the Dominican Republic, is coming off his first season with the Colorado Rockies where he hit .252 in 2025, posting 35 hits, four home runs and 14 RBIs to 25 strikeouts in 139 at bats and 40 games. The signing came two weeks after the Rockies waived Bernabel, who also earned National League Player of the Week after going 14-for-28 and three home runs during his first full week in the pros. Bernabel originally signed with the club as an international free agent in 2018.

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New minor league coach…the Washington Nationals reportedly added another to its minor league staff with Niko Leontarakis joining the organization as a pitching coach for the 2026 season. He is coming off three years at Rockland Peak Performance, an indoor baseball training facility in New Jersey, while he also served as a strength and conditioning coach at Rowe Performance beginning in 2021 for roughly one year. Leontarakis played his college ball at Eastern Kentucky where, as a senior, he posted a 6.88 ERA and went 6-2 in nine starts and 19 appearances with 54 strikeouts over 52 innings.

Aggressive in the open market?…while the Nationals have been relatively quiet with offseason additions in the offseason, ESPN’s Jeff Passan included Washington among the teams aggressive in the “mid-tier starting pitching” tier midway through December.

“There are still starters aplenty available. Chris Bassitt is the best of the bunch for teams seeking innings — only five pitchers have thrown more over the past four seasons — and Lucas Giolito has the highest ceiling. Nick Martinez and Zack Littell are steady strike-throwers, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander quadragenarians with enough stuff and know-how to succeed, and Tyler Mahle and German Marquez tantalizing to teams that dream on what they could get out of a full, healthy season. Walker Buehler remains a prime bounce-back candidate, Patrick Corbin a lefty who can pitch forever and Michael Lorenzen an ever-ready swingman,” Passan wrote.

How the Nationals pursue the market is worth watching, especially with the MacKenzie Gore trade speculation not totally out of the woods just yet. The Nationals did sign Foster Griffin after a productive three-year stint in Japan, another option to add to the rotation, but it’s clear the unit will need at least one more arm ahead of the 2026 season. Could it end up with a Scherzer reunion? Time will tell, but don’t rule out Washington just yet.