Remember '21 Schwarber? He could be blueprint for Nats' offseason

Kyle Schwarber is one of the most highly sought-after free agents this winter. The slugging MVP finalist has teams around the league vying for his dominating offense and veteran leadership after smashing 56 home runs last season with the Phillies.

Yet it was only five years ago that Schwarber was non-tendered by the Cubs after struggling with a .188 batting average and 88 OPS+ in the abbreviated 2020 season. The Nationals believed he could turn around his production, and they signed Schwarber to a one-year contract in January 2021.

Former manager Dave Martinez moved Schwarber into the leadoff spot, where Schwarber’s offense erupted. He demolished 25 home runs (17 as the leadoff hitter) in 72 games with Washington before his head-turning season was halted by a right hamstring injury.

The Nationals traded a sidelined Schwarber to the Red Sox at the 2021 Trade Deadline, and he signed a four-year, $79 million dollar contract with the Phillies in the winter – a massive bounceback from having been non-tendered the previous offseason.

Schwarber’s success highlights the value of the free agency pool of non-tendered players. The Nationals, who at the time were led by former general manager Mike Rizzo, took the same approach the following year and signed veterans Jeimer Candelario and Dominic Smith for the 2023 season.

This winter is president of baseball operations Paul Toboni’s first offseason with the Nationals. There are several areas of the roster to address for 2026 – could the Nats invest in the potential of non-tendered players to fill some of these needs?

“I wouldn’t say there’s a hierarchical order [of positions],” Toboni said at the GM Meetings last month. “I will say that we’re going to be really open-minded. I don’t think you can ever have enough pitching. We’ll be open-minded at the first-base position, potentially at the catching position. We’re going to see how it plays out and what opportunities present themselves.”

Below is the non-tendered pool of free agents at each of those aforementioned positions. Noted in parentheses are the players’ 2026 seasonal age and FanGraphs WAR total across 2024-25.

Catcher
Reese McGuire (30, 0.9); Will Banfield (26, -0.2); Sebastián Rivero (27, -0.2), Andrew Knizner* (31, -0.4); Jonah Heim (30, -0.5)

First base
Nathaniel Lowe* (30, 2.6); Tim Elko (27, -0.5); Michael Toglia (27, -1.8)

Starting pitchers
Albert Suárez (36, 1.8); Alek Manoah (28, 0.0); Carson Spiers (28, 0.0); Tommy Henry (28, -0.6); Roddery Muñoz* (26, -1.9)

Relievers
Mark Leiter Jr. (35, 1.7); Evan Phillips (31, 1.1); Jacob Webb (32, 0.9); Ian Hamilton (31, 0.7); Sean Guenther (30, 0.5); Taylor Rashi (30, 0.4); Josh Sborz (32, 0.4); Danny Young (32, 0.4); Max Kranick (28, 0.3); Trent Thornton (32, 0.3); Taylor Clarke (33, 0.3); Jason Foley (30, 0.3); Nic Enright (28, 0.2); Dauri Moreta (30, 0.1); Jake Cousins (31, 0.1); Tayler Saucedo (33, 0.1); Gregory Santos (26, 0.0); Omar Cruz (27, 0.0); Jack Little (28, 0.0); Carson Ragsdale (28, 0.0); Sean Reynolds (28, 0.0); Dugan Darnell (29, 0.0); Eli Morgan (29, 0.0); Joey Lucchesi (33, 0.0); José Castillo (30, -0.1); Daniel Robert (31, -0.1); Scott Effross (32, -0.1); Jorge Alcala (30, -0.2); John King (31, -0.2); Colin Holderman (30, -0.3); Cam Booser (34, -0.3); Michael Mercado (27, -0.8)

*Previously played in the Nationals' organization