This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato’s Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
The 2026 Winter Olympics have been capturing the attention of the Nationals during Spring Training. Every day, the worldwide events have been a main event in the clubhouse. I wondered: if the players could swap out their gloves and bats to participate in a Winter Olympic sport, which one would they choose?
OF Dylan Crews: “Figure skating. One, I’ve got the physique to do it. Two, the footwork is immaculate. I mean, that’s all I have to say.”
2B Luis García Jr.: “Bobsled. That’s the best one. We need four people. (Looks at his teammates sitting next to him at their lockers) [James] Wood, me, [Daylen] Lile and Crews.”
Lile: “Where’s James sitting?”
Wood: “I’d be in the front.”
García: “Everybody’s talking, it’s the best one.”
RHP Jake Irvin: “Hockey, because it rocks. It’s an awesome sport.”
RHP Cade Cavalli: “I’d probably do curling. I enjoy throwing cornholes. It’s a similar idea. You have to have some touch and some feel. And it looks fun. I feel like I’d be the sweeper as well. I’d get after it.”
OF Daylen Lile: “Probably snowboard freestyle. It looks fun. I’ve skateboarded before, but it would be pretty cool to go on a ramp and try different tricks and try to land it.”
RHP Griff McGarry: “The ski jump. I’ve got some pretty decent ankle mobility. I feel like I could set the angle and be able to fly a little bit through the sky. Plus, I’m sure it’s pretty exhilarating, so it would be a fun one to do.”
OF James Wood: “Curling. It looks fun.”
C Drew Millas: “Probably hockey. I think, in my opinion, it’s the coolest Winter Olympics sport, especially with what’s behind it for hockey. The guys take pride in their nation and they take pride in playing for their country. I think it’s very, very serious. A very physical aspect, too.”
SS Nasim Nuñez: “Snowboarding. It’s just fire. I’d want my pictures taken.”
OF Jacob Young: “I would say there’d be two: I’d either do the halfpipe because I think it’s really fun to watch, or I would speed skate because that looks so much fun.”
RHP Andre Granillo: “The enforcer [in hockey]. I've never been into a fight in my entire life, but I think I’d be down to just check them.”
RHP Jackson Rutledge: “I would want to do a skeleton or bobsled. They’re absolutely flying. They’re doing 75, 80 miles an hour. Not a lot of control. No real steering wheel. I think it’d be fun.”
RHP Brad Lord: “Definitely the luge. Me and Rut (who is standing nearby, listening) could do the doubles, definitely kill that. It would be a lot of fun, going fast and trying just trying to steer. It would be awesome.”
SS Seaver King (No. 10 prospect): “Hockey. It seems the most entertaining and probably the hardest, I would say. Besides baseball, I think it’s the hardest sport. I’d want to score, [be] a forward or something.”
LHP Jake Eder: “I think it would be snowboarding, and here’s my reason: If I have to train for four years, I definitely don’t want to be pushing the broom on a curling thing for four years. So I get to ride a snowboard every day? Yeah."