This time of year, there are always a few young players across the league that get contract extensions. Teams try to buy out a few free agent years at what they think will be cheaper costs, while players get long term security. Bobby Witt Jr., Jackson Merrill, Kristian Campbell and Keibert Ruiz are all young players who have signed lucrative extensions right before a season over the last few years.
From that list, you can see this is a high risk, high reward approach. If you sign the right player, you will be getting these guys on huge bargains for most of their primes. However, extending the wrong guy could be an anchor on the franchise. Not only financially, but also from an opportunity cost standpoint.
Paul Toboni comes from a Red Sox organization that has extended several young players in the last few years. Garrett Crochet, Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela, Garrett Whitlock and Brayan Bello have all signed extensions in Boston, with most taking place before those guys hit arbitrations. Could Toboni replicate this process with the Nats, and if he does, who should he extend?
In my opinion, Daylen Lile is the best and most obvious extension candidate on the roster. Unlike a few of the Nats other young players, he is not represented by Scott Boras, so that makes talks easier. He is not projected to hit free agency until 2032, which also means an extension will not be that pricey. As players accrue more service time, the price of their extension goes up.
Lile showed a phenomenal feel to hit in his first taste of MLB action in 2025. He hit .299 with an .845 OPS. The speedy outfielder also compiled an insane 11 triples in just 91 games. His speed and gap to gap power make him a constant threat for triples. He hit a ton in the minor leagues as well, so this is no fluke.
I also think Lile has room to grow, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Right now, he is not a good defensive outfielder. However, I think he has the athletic ability to be at least an average defender in a corner. His reads need sharpening, but he has been making a point of improving that. Lile’s reads could also improve when it comes to stealing bases. Despite 92nd percentile sprint speed, he was inefficient as a base stealer.
Lile’s combination of current production and upside make him the guy Toboni should approach. He is already a good player, but he has clear areas of improvement. Lile also has the athleticism to improve in those areas, which makes development possible.
Honestly, the Nats should try offering him an 8-year $65 million contract with a couple team options attached as well. It is a bit more than the 8-years $50 million that Keibert Ruiz got, but Lile has produced more than Ruiz ever has.
He is not the only guy the Nats should approach though. Dylan Crews and James Wood are Boras clients, which complicates things, but it is still worth asking. That is especially true in the case of Wood, who has shown super star upside when he is at his best.
Given how Wood has performed at his best and his agent, this extension will be pricey. If Scott Boras were even willing to listen, he would probably use the Julio Rodriguez contract as a point of comparison. That is a 12-year $209 million deal, but it has incentives that could take it up to $470 million. Boras would want more guaranteed money, but there would not be as much incentive based money.
A Wood extension is not very likely, but you never know. He is a local kid whose family has a lot of roots in DC. However, I do not see that happening unless the Nats absolutely blow him away. Given how they have been spending lately, I find that hard to envision.
One player who I certainly do not see the Nats extending is CJ Abrams. Despite not being a Boras client, it really seems like the extension window has closed with Abrams. He is much more likely to be traded in the next year than extended, at least in my opinion.
It is not just my opinion though. Those around the game see an Abrams trade as a matter of when not if. There was an Athletic article about potential Spring Training trade candidates, and Abrams was at the top of the list.
I do not think Abrams will be traded before the season, but a deadline deal seems like a real possibility. The piece on Abrams was actually quite interesting. They talked about how those Giants rumors had legs, even if the move did not come to be. It was also mentioned that the Nats goal right now is making the best farm system in baseball, and that they will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal.
Abrams only has three years of team control remaining and is on the trade block. Combine that with some of the maturity questions, I do not see an extension coming. If it does happen, I would be pleasantly surprised because I still think Abrams can be a long term piece for this group.
Now I am going to flip the question to you guys. Who would you want to extend and are there any guys you would stay away from? An extension this spring would be a good PR move from the Nats as well. With all the losing, there is apathy setting in. There is also a sense that ownership is checked out. An extension would not quell all of those concerns, but it would be a positive step. For me, I would be on the phone with Daylen Lile’s agent non-stop.