There has been some Nationals news in the last few days that I wanted to catch up on. There has been a minor league signing, some hiring and a player on the 40-man roster headed to Japan. None of these news items are earth-shattering, but they could play a role in how the Nats 2026 season plays out.
First I want to talk about the Nats minor league signing. The Nats signed the uniquely named Warming Bernabel to a minor league deal with a Spring Training invite. At just 23 years old, he’s on the younger side for a MILB free agent pickup. Bernabel also has some big league experience with the Rockies.
Bernabel, who plays first base and third base, will come to Spring Training looking for a job. He actually played 40 MLB games, where he hit .252, with a respectable .698 OPS. Like most Rockies players, he was much better at Coors Field, but he was an extreme example. Bernabel hit .338 with an .899 OPS at home, while hitting .169 on the road with a .502 OPS.
While a lot of people talk about how it’s easier for hitters to put up big numbers in Colorado, and that’s true, it also tends to hurt their road production. Being at high altitude, you are used to the places being less dirty due to the thin air. While the Coors effect is real, the rocky road effect also exists.
Bernabel will likely hit minor league depth, but there’s a chance he’ll score some points at some point this season. He makes a lot of contact and knows how to pull the ball into the air. However, the plate discipline and brute force are a bit of a problem.
On the other side of the coin, the Nats have a player leaving the organization. Mike DeBartolo picked Sauryn Lao off waivers, and he made a few appearances for the Nats. However, it appears that the right-hander will head to Japan to sign with Nippon Ham Fighters.
This makes an already thin bullpen even thinner. There is now one less arm to go to in the bullpen. It was unclear if Lao would make the Opening Day roster, but there was a good chance he would have to throw some innings at some point in the season.
Lao’s departure makes adding bullpens even more necessary. I’m curious to see what Paul Toboni does with the bullpen. So far, the Nats have lost two relievers in Laos and Jose A. Ferrer, but they haven’t brought in anyone. They desperately need help in the bullpen and it’s only a matter of time before Toboni brings in reinforcements.
Finally, there has been a steady trickle of hiring over the past week. Most notably, the Nats hired Chris O’Neill as Low-A manager. That Low-A team will get a lot of prospects, so it’s important to have a good manager there.
O’Neill is very familiar with the DC area and has coached at George Washington for a few years. This past year, O’Neill was an assistant coach at VCU. The Nats have hired a few coaches from the college ranks so far. It will be very interesting to follow these minor league coaching hires as they will be responsible for a large part of the development.
Another interesting addition was Justin Simanek, who will become a minor league pitching coach. Like many of these Nats employees, Simanek is super young. He is a 28 year old who set up a pitching lab in Mississippi three years ago. Simanek will be part of this crazy new project the Nats are embarking on.
After the Nats picked up Foster Griffin, there was no more big news. However, there were some interesting things that could become important later. It’s a fascinating time to be a Nats fan and even the small moves have some intrigue.
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