Nationals Receiving Trade Interest In Dylan Crews

The Nationals are fielding interest from other clubs on former #2 overall pick Dylan Crews, reports Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic. Washington has also gotten calls on left fielder Daylen Lile, Nusbaum writes, though he suggests the asking price on Lile is high enough that Crews is the more likely of the duo to move.

Other clubs would view Crews as a change of scenery target at this point. The 24-year-old outfielder has yet to find any kind of sustained success in nearly 900 plate appearances against MLB pitching. Crews struggled enough last season and during Spring Training that the Nationals optioned him back to Triple-A out of camp. He remained in the minors until mid-May. The Nats used him as their primary right fielder with some work at the other two outfield spots after recalling him.

Crews played capable defense but remained a below-average hitter. He ran a .223/.289/.374 slash line with 13 homers across 443 plate appearances. Crews’ batted ball data were a little more encouraging, as he showed plus bat speed and made hard contact at an above-average rate. He also succeeded in elevating the ball a little more often than he had early in his MLB career, which the front office cited as a focus when they sent him back to the minors.

The righty-hitting Crews hasn’t much progress in the team’s other stated goal — developing a more selective approach. He swung at a career-high 51.7% of pitches and chased nearly a third of the time he saw something outside the strike zone. Crews struck out at a 24% clip against a subpar 6.8% walk rate.

Crews did perform well with the platoon advantage, batting .264/.331/.465 with six homers in 142 plate appearances against lefties. The flip side, of course, is that he struggled mightily when facing a right-handed pitcher. He had a .600 OPS against righties this year and is a career .207/.278/.344 hitter without the platoon edge.

The Nationals presumably don’t want to commit to Crews as a short side platoon bat this early in his career. They obviously had far higher hopes than that given his draft and prospect pedigree. Crews was drafted by the previous Mike Rizzo-led group, so the current front office might not have as much attachment to him as a developmental project. Washington also seems unlikely to give him everyday run in center field after signing defensive stalwart Jacob Young to a $23MM extension last week. They can continue to give Crews reps in right field, but the offensive bar is higher there than it would be for a team playing him up the middle.

If the Nats were to trade Crews, they’d probably look to backfill the outfield depth. They’ll want to continue mixing in James Wood at designated hitter in addition to his right field work. Andrew Pinckney is the only depth outfielder on the 40-man roster. He’s coming off a league average batting line (.270/.347/.437) as a 25-year-old in Triple-A, where he struck out at a 31% clip. The Nationals seem unlikely to move Crews strictly for prospects, so the main possibility would be to flip him for an unproven or upper minors starting pitcher while looking elsewhere for a corner outfielder.

Nusbaum unsurprisingly writes that the Nationals have no interest in trading Wood, who’s coming off a second straight 30-homer season and under club control for another four years. They should have a high bar on Lile, who’s five years from free agency. Lile hit very well as a rookie in 2025 while struggling defensively. He played much better defense this past season but had an up-and-down year at the plate. Lile finished this year with a .246/.296/.429 slash line with 22 homers but showed a higher offensive gear with his .299/.347/.498 debut campaign.