Photo: Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire

Part of a series of articles previewing the defensive performance of all 30 MLB teams by asking the question … are they good? To see the full series, click here.

2024 Defensive Runs Saved Rank:26th

Team Strengths

Jacob Young covers ground at a level that other center fielders can’t match. He led the position in the range component of Runs Saved last season, though his overall numbers dipped due to a high number of mishandled balls on base hits that allowed runners to advance.

Trey Lipscomb is battling for a roster spot but if he’s on the team, he’s quite useful on the defensive side. He had 4 Runs Saved in 55 games at third base last year and has a good defensive history in the minor leagues. Same for middle infielder Nasim Nuñez.

Team Weaknesses

James Wood didn’t fare great in his first 79 games in left field and finished with -7 Runs Saved. 

Luis Garcia has had -7 and -5 Runs Saved the last two seasons at second base. That’s better than his -17 at shortstop in 2022 but it’s still in need of improvement.

Other Things To Know

Dylan Crews got a 40 scouting grade for his defense from FanGraphs but had 3 Runs Saved in 30 games in right field last season. If he can outperform his scouting report, that would help the Nationals considerably.

Shout-out to Keibert Ruiz for his defensive improvements, as he went from -5 and -14 Runs Saved in 2022 and 2023, respectively, to 2 Runs Saved in 2024. Holding that improvement would help the Nationals’ defensive projection as well.

New first baseman Nathaniel Lowe has a Gold Glove to his credit, but his stats don’t necessarily scream Gold Glove. He’s had 3 Runs Saved and 1 Run Saved the last two seasons.

 Are the Nationals A Good Defensive Team?

No. They’re great in one spot, maybe good in one or two other places, but not in enough spots to be a good defensive team just yet.