An interesting and under-discussed storyline from this offseason is the future of Luis Garcia Jr. in DC. Despite some speculating that Garcia would not be offered, Paul Toboni decided to bring the 25-year-old back into the fold. Now that he’s back, the biggest question is how he will be used.
Down the road, the Nationals flirted with the idea of moving Garcia to first base. He actually started first in two of the last five games, the first two starts he ever made at the position. Garcia also did practice reps at the position in the second half of the season.
That makes you think about how it will be used in the future. Garcia actually did well defensively in 2024but that has been an exception to the rule so far in his career. Over the years, the defensive metrics and eye test have not been kind to Garcia. This past season he was posted -7 outs above average at second base. The range limitations were clearly visible in the 2025 season.
However, can we be reading too much into Garcia’s end-of-season move with a new regime in place? Well, Paul Toboni seems open to the idea. He wanted Garcia to get reps at first base in the Dominican Winter League to make him more versatile. Despite those comments, Garcia did only played second base in his 14 winter league games to date.
That could be due to the composition of his winter competition team, but it remains curious. It makes me think Garcia won’t be a full-time first baseman. However, that idea of versatility strikes me. It gives an idea of what Toboni is looking for.
There is a good chance that positions will no longer be the same under this new regime. Garcia could split time on first, second and DH depending on the matchup and who has the hot hand. The Nats have started using more platoons over the past two years, but I think that’s really where Toboni is going.
The Red Sox did a lot of platooning last season, with guys like Rob Refsnyder and Romy Gonzalez specializing in left-handed pitching. Meanwhile, a player like Wilyer Abreu mainly played against right-handed pitchers.
Garcia is a productive hitter against right-handed pitching. Last season he hit .270 with a .763 OPS against righties. All 16 of his home runs also came against right-handed pitching. In 2024 it was even better, with Garcia hit .288 with a .795 OPS against righties.
Speaking of his attacking profile, there are reasons to be optimistic despite taking a step back in 2025. Looking under the hood, Garcia’s process was still solid. In fact, his exit velocities, xwOBA, barrel speed, bat speed, and hard hits all improved between 2024 and 2025.
Garcia was one of the unluckiest hitters in all of baseball last year. His wOBA was 37 points lower than his xwOBA and his batting average was 32 points lower than his expected batting average. Sure, he chases more than you’d like, but there’s still a good hitter in there.
Given the importance of Garcia’s bat, the Nats will have to make room for him against right-handed pitching. The question is whether that will be at first base or second base. We’ll get a clearer answer towards the end of the offseason. The Nats have signed a pair of first basemen to minor league deals, but Matt Mervis and Warming Bernabel aren’t stopping the Nats from signing a proven first baseman like Rhys Hoskins if they so choose.
If the Nats feel more comfortable with Garcia at first base, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nats bring in someone who could play second base. We’ve already discussed the idea of signing Willi Castro. Bringing in someone like Luis Rengifo or Ramon Urias could make sense if they need second base options.
Considering they offered Garcia, he’s clearly going to play a role in the team. He is expected to make $7 million in arbitration, which is not insignificant, especially for this team. How Paul Toboni and Blake Butera deploy him will tell us a lot about some of their philosophies. I’m excited to see all of this play out in Spring Training as the battle for playing time plays out.
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