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Nationals Sign Former Phillies Outfield Prospect

Originally posted on Washington Nationals on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Dec 3, 2025 7:00 PM ET

The player transaction side of things hasn't been busy for the Washington Nationals.

Prior to Wednesday, the only reported moves made by the Nationals was signing right-handed pitcher Eddy Yean to a minor league deal and re-signing their shortstop-turned-pitcher project Erick Mejia.

The majority of this offseason's focus thus far has been to build a coaching staff and front office, which looks like it is starting to pay off. However, at some point, new president of baseball operations Paul Toboni will have to turn his attention to actually improving Washington's roster.

It's hard to say he did that on Wednesday, but he did make his latest move. According to Chase Ford of MiLB Central, the Nationals have signed former Philadelphia Phillies outfield prospect Leandro Pineda to a minor league deal.

The Washington Nationals have signed OF Leandro Pineda to a minor league deal.

Pineda had 32 extra-base hits along with 37 RBI this past season in the minors.#Nationals
— Chase Ford (@_chaseford) December 3, 2025

It's safe to say this is an underwhelming move. Pineda doesn't have great numbers during his time in the minors, and that has prevented him from getting a shot at The Show in his career thus far. However, at the age of 23, there theoretically is still a chance for him to get there.

But that's going to require Pineda to step his game up. He struggled with the Phillies' Double-A affiliate this past season. He slashed .211/.320/.364 across 105 games with nine home runs, 22 doubles and 37 RBIs.

Philadelphia signed him as an international free agent back in 2018. He spent the next year playing in the Dominican Summer League before getting 2020 off when the minor league season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 was his first time stateside when he spent the entire campaign in the Florida Complex League. He's been working his way up the pipeline ever since, albeit slowly, since he never has quite been able to flash enough to garner attention.

What Can Leandro Pineda Bring to Nationals?

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This addition is one that doesn't seem like it will have big league roster implications.

At least with Yean and Mejia, there is a chance those two could appear in The Show for Washington during the upcoming season. Yean flashed some good stuff at Triple-A within the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization this year, and Mejia reached Triple-A this past season and could be an option at some point if arms get hurt.

Pineda has yet to reach that level during his career. With Double-A being the highest affiliate he's reached, it stands to reason that this was a depth signing by Toboni as he looks to reload and retool a diminished minor league system following multiple players electing to become free agents. And because the outfield unit of the Nationals is so crowded already, it will take a lot for the underwhelming Pineda to crack that group in the near future.

Still, despite this not being a signing of note, Toboni is doing what he should by adding more depth to the organization.