As holiday break ends, Nats still wondering who's on first?

As the holiday break officially ends and everyone gets back to work, the Nationals’ front office will reconvene and confront perhaps the team’s most pressing question at the moment: Who’s on first?

That question has loomed since season’s end. While every other position around the diamond arguably already has a potential long-term solution in place, there’s nothing of the sort at first base.

In fact, there’s only one true first baseman on the 40-man roster right now, and that’s Andres Chaparro, who played in only 34 big league games last season and has never really been viewed as a long-term solution. The 26-year-old maybe could serve as the right-handed portion of a position platoon, but that option has never seemed like anyone’s first choice.

What about Luis Garcia Jr.? That possibility has not been ruled out, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the 25-year-old get some reps at first base this spring. But nobody in an official role has suggested a full-time position switch for Garcia, who has played 508 of his 580 career MLB games at second base (and may or may not be a better defender at the corner position).

The Nationals have signed two moderately experienced first basemen to minor league deals in recent weeks in the form of Matt Mervis and Warming Bernabel. Mervis, a D.C. native, owns a paltry .165/.238/.322 slash line over 261 career MLB plate appearances, though it’s worth noting he’s homered in two of his six career plate appearances against his hometown team. Bernabel, 23, slashed .252/.288/.410 over 146 plate appearances with the Rockies last season.

Any one of those guys could figure into the equation in 2026, but none looks right now like the answer to the larger question. Which means there’s still a good chance the Nats’ Opening Day first baseman is not yet part of the organization.

A handful of free agents have already signed elsewhere, with Pete Alonso getting a big deal from the Orioles, Josh Naylor resigning with the Mariners, Ryan O’Hearn signing with the Pirates and old pal Josh Bell signing with the Twins. On top of that, the two prominent Japanese corner infielders who were available have now signed as well, with Munetaka Murakami going to the White Sox and Kazuma Okamoto going to the Blue Jays.

So, the pool of remaining candidates is shrinking, though it’s not entirely dry yet.

The only big-ticket first baseman still out there is Cody Bellinger, but most interested teams still view him as an outfielder over a first baseman, and there’s been no reason to believe the Nationals are serious contenders for him.

Pretty much everyone else could be had on a short-term deal of one or maybe two years.

Rhys Hoskins hasn’t been the same player since injuring his knee with the Phillies in 2023, but he still produced above-average numbers (108 OPS+) over 328 plate appearances with the Brewers last season, is a proven power bat and strong clubhouse presence. The negatives: At 33, his best days are behind him, and he’s never been a good defender.

Paul Goldschmidt also is a shell of his previous All-Star form, now 38 years old. But like Hoskins, Goldschmidt was an above-average offensive player (104 OPS+) last season in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees and is good in the clubhouse. Unlike Hoskins, he has a strong defensive reputation, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner. The downside: His last Gold Glove came in 2021.

Luis Arraez brings a different skill-set to the ballgame as one of the sport’s longtime best contact hitters. A three-time batting champion with a career .317 batting average, the 28-year-old still led the National League in hits last season with 181, 30 of them doubles. He’s only hit 36 homers in seven big league seasons, though, and he’s also not known for his defense at either first or second base.

The rest of the free agent list still out there: Wilmer Flores, Ty France, Nathaniel Lowe, Carlos Santana, Dominic Smith, Rowdy Tellez, Michael Toglia, Justin Turner and LaMonte Wade Jr.

Will any of them be standing at first base wearing a curly W cap come Opening Day? It’s up to the Nationals’ front office to solve this longstanding question.