Nationals second baseman has begun taking pregame drills at first base, . While the Nats dont have any plans to get Garca imminent game action there, Golden writes that they could give him a look at some point as they plan ahead to 2026. Garca hasnt played anywhere other than second base since the end of 2022. He got a few months of shortstop run that year but clearly wasnt cut out for that position. Hes not a particularly good second baseman either. Defensive Runs Saved has graded him negatively in three straight years. Statcasts Outs Above Average gave him above-average marks in 2024 but has had him as a subpar defender in every other season of his career. Both metrics have him alongside and among the leagues three worst defensive second basemen this season. Statcast feels hes been particularly poor at tracking balls hit up the middle. Infield defense has been a team-wide i sue for a few seasons. grades as one of the sports weakest defensive shortstops. was a non-viable option at third base earlier in the year. Rookie is getting everyday run at the hot corner now and raised the floor with the glove, but he hasnt hit enough to stake a firm claim to the job going into next season. Statcast grades the Nats overall infield defense at -31 Outs Above Average. Thats not only the worst in MLB, its 11 outs below the 29th-place Angels. Washington ranked 25th Kyle Anderson Jersey in that category a year ago. The Nats have allowed an MLB-high .278 batting average on ground-balls despite ranking middle of the pack in hard contact. They need to be far better defensively if theyre to take a step towards contention in 2026. Garca has been a solid but not elite hitter over the past couple seasons. He turned in a career-best .282/.318/.444 showing with 18 homers and 22 stolen bases last year. The slash line has regre sed to a .260/.300/.397 mark this season, but his results have lagged more impre sive batted ball metrics all year. Garca doesnt seem dramatically different than he was a year ago: a slightly above-average hitter who shouldnt be playing up the middle on an everyday basis. The bat is probably too light for him to be an average or better regular at first base. That said, the Nationals dont have an obvious in-house candidate to play there next season. The trade didnt work. is an impending free agent. Even if Washington re-signs him on a one-year deal, his streakine s makes him a better bench bat than a regular. Theres nothing to suggest the Nationals are projecting Garca to make a full-time move there, but theres little downside in getting him comfortable at another position. Washingtons offseason plans wont be known until they hire a permanent GM and manager. Mike DeBartolo and Miguel Cairo are currently holding those roles on interim bases. Whether they keep that leadership structure in place or hire externally, theyll need to addre s the infield over the offseason. First base is the most obvious priority, but getting Garca some kind of versatility would provide more flexibility for a free agent run at or to explore trade po sibilities at the keystone. Killian Tillie Jersey