We are now inside of two weeks until pitchers and catchers report, so the offseason is nearly finished.

And what an offseason it’s been for the Nationals, who have … acquired a total of four major league players, not even totaling $10 million spent on those players.

OK, so it’s been an awfully quiet winter on South Capitol Street. There’s still time for Mike Rizzo and Co. to make more moves, though. And given the swath of still-unsigned free agents out there, we may see teams continue to add significant players after spring training has already commenced.

But since we’re getting close to the finish line now, it’s probably a good time to take an updated look at the state of the Nationals’ organization depth chart. We did this way back on Nov. 8, at the outset of the offseason. How does it look today compared to then?

(Note: Players listed below are on the 40-man roster, except for those with an asterisk next to their names.)

We don’t know yet how the Nationals are going to approach this offseason. Is there a chance they spend big on a free agent? Are they going to stick with their approach from last winter and sign several stopgap players to one-year contracts? What positions are they targeting most?

We’ll learn in the coming weeks and months how exactly this is going to play out, but as the true offseason gets underway this week, it’s helpful to look at what the Nats currently have as a guide for what they might now want to add.

And that doesn’t just mean what they have at the big league level. Now more than ever, the presence of top prospects in Double-A or Triple-A who could be close to arriving in D.C. can and should affect how Mike Rizzo and Co. approach the Hot Stove League. If they think they’ve got a long-term answer at third base waiting to make his major league debut, they probably aren’t going to sign a free agent for more than one year. If they don’t think they’ve got an in-house answer at first base, they might well decide it is appropriate to make a long-term commitment to someone from the outside.

So let’s take an opportunity this morning to look at the Nationals’ organizational depth chart, position by position. The top players listed are currently on the 40-man roster. Players who follow with an asterisk next to their names are not on the 40-man roster (though some could be added next week when the team needs to protect them from being lost in the Rule 5 Draft).

CATCHER
Keibert Ruiz
Riley Adams
Drew Millas
Israel Pineda
Brady Lindsly*
Onix Vega*

As we wait for the Nationals to put their offseason plan – whatever that plan ends up being – into action, it’s probably instructive to take stock of what they already have in place.

The organizational depth chart looks a whole lot different today than it did one year ago, and it basically bears zero resemblance to the one that existed two years ago. Consider this: Only 22 players who were on the 40-man roster on Opening Day are still on the 40-man roster. And out of that group, only 10 were on the 40-man roster on Opening Day 2021.

That’s a lot of change.

So, what’s left? A roster that has more young talent than it did a year ago, though most of it has yet to reach the big leagues. And plenty of holes that still need to be filled.

As you can see when you break the depth chart down position by position, the Nationals still have some work to do, both when it comes to short-term and long-term roster construction. (Note: Players not currently on the 40-man roster have an asterisk after their names.) …

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