Nationals should prioritize prospects, not trade-chip veterans in slumping lineup

Third baseman Trey Lipscomb played 33 games for Washington this season before being sent back to Rochester on May 17. During his time in the majors, he batted .252 and got hits in four of his last 10 at-bats, spanning his final three games at the level. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at especially after seeing who the Nationals seemingly have decided to prioritize in their lineup.

League veterans Joey Gallo, Nick Senzel and Jesse Winker are all batting sub .200 in May and general manager Mike Rizzo appears to be hoping these rental players will catch fire before the trade deadline. Not to mention team veterans like Joey Meneses and Victor Robles who, like Gallo, Senzel and Winker, have had their injury troubles on top of inferior hitting.

Fans understand when a rebuild is underway and developing players in the minor leagues is key to becoming competitive again. However, wasting opportunities for top prospects to get major league at-bats while hoping poor hitters can pull a rabbit out of their ballcaps and provide serious return on investment at the trade deadline only hurts the rebuild in the long run.

Other organizations like the Pittsburgh Pirates have taken advantage of prospects like pitcher Paul Skenes and infielder Oneil Cruz over the last few seasons to some considerable success. The Baltimore Orioles called up top prospect Jackson Holliday earlier this year and despite a poor showing they still made commercial strides for the team.

Nobody is asking Rizzo or manager Davey Martinez to rush 2023 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews to the majors, but the clock is ticking on proving there is a real game plan on utilizing the prospects the team got in return for trading legends like Max Scherzer, Juan Soto and Trea Turner away in years past.

The Nationals want to sell tickets and give fans a reason to go to the ballpark in the post-World Series title era. Second-rate hitters and no timetable for serious prospects like Woods and Crews will keep fans at home and cost the team on its bottom line.