The Washington Nationals have a solid collection of young talent.
To take the next step into NL East Division contention, they’ve got to decide which of those promising players is part of the future plan in the nation’s capital, and which of those players should be on the move in a trade to reallocate resources and hopefully continue to improve.
The Nationals’ best player is James Wood, and he seems like the kind of guy you build a franchise around.
The guy the Nats had at one point hoped would become their best player is Dylan Crews. He’s a bit of a trickier situation.
A new report from The Athletic’s Spencer Nusbaum has cleared up some things about the Nats’ potential offseason plans, including the fact that they certainly don’t view Wood and Crews as part of the same group.
Nationals’ Dylan Crews, James Wood Trade Decisions
According to Nusbaum, the Nationals would be open to trading Crews. Wood is part of a core group the Nats have no interest in dealing.
“With a dearth of right-handed hitting outfielders available on the market, and the ink still drying on Jacob Young’s contract extension, one name on the Washington Nationals has emerged as a popular trade target at the general managers’ meetings: outfielder Dylan Crews,” Nusbaum writes. “A number of teams have expressed interest in Crews, according to multiple people around the sport who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the conversations are internal and ongoing. The Nationals have not taken the former No. 2 pick off the table in trade talks, as they have with James Wood, Cade Cavalli and now Young.”
Crews was supposed to be a star out of LSU with all high-level tools, but it simply hasn’t worked out that way.
Still, he’s shown just enough at the MLB level to combine with his strong pedigree and make him a decent trade candidate.
Dylan Crews Trade Cost
Crews has an uncertain trade value, which will make following the rumors as the offseason goes on quite fascinating.
Nusbaum adds this:
It isn’t clear whether a controllable starting pitcher would be their target in a Crews deal, if they moved him at all, though team executives have signaled to multiple teams that they are on the hunt for controllable starting pitching. That was also the case at the trade deadline, when Crews was also a relatively popular target in conversations.
Crews’ final stat line in 2026 was far from overwhelming — he hit .223 with 13 homers and a .663 OPS — but he grades out as a well-above-average fielder and baserunner, and could still have untapped upside. Over the last month of the season, Crews chased less, made more consistent contact in the zone and regularly hit the ball in the air.
One evaluator speculated that a fair deal could see the Nationals send Crews to a team with starting pitchers of a similar ilk: players with untapped potential but with many years of control.
With a lockout looming on Dec. 1, the Nationals would have to trade Crews in November to get such business done soon — or everyone will be forced to wait and see what they do with him once baseball returns, whenever that might be.
Nationals Make Opposite Decisions on Trading Dylan Crews, James Wood