This page may contain affiliate links. If you click and sign up, make a deposit, or place a wager, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you.
Nunez is absent from the lineup for Monday's contest in Philadelphia.
Nunez started all three games against the Cubs in the Nationals' first series of the season, but he'll begin Monday's festivities on the bench. Jorbit Vivas is handling second base and batting eighth for Washington.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Swipes first bag of year
Rotowire
Nunez went 0-for-2 with a walk, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Thursday's win over the Cubs.
Getting the start at second base and batting seventh, Nunez made an immediate impact with his speed when he drew a one-out walk and stole second in the sixth inning before scoring on a Ben Brown wild pitch. Nunez came into the season with 17 steals in 20 attempts over 90 big-league games in a utility role, giving him significant stolen-base upside if he hits enough to hang onto a starting spot at the keystone for the Nats.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Likely to start at second base
Rotowire
Nunez appears to be in line to be the Nationals' regular second baseman this season, Jessica Camerato and Paige Leckie of MLB.com report.
Luis Garcia is expected to shirt to first base, opening up the keystone for Nunez. The 25-year-old should provide a defensive upgrade over Garcia, but it remains to be seen how much offense Nunez can supply, as he comes into 2026 with a career .238/.329/.343 slash line in 170 big-league plate appearances. Nunez could make an impact on the basepaths, however, having gone 17-for-20 on steal attempts so far in his career before being successful in all seven of his SB attempts this spring.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Swipes two more bags
Rotowire
Nunez went 1-for-2 with a walk and two stolen bases in Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Cardinals.
Getting the start at second base and batting second against left-hander Quinn Mathews while Luis Garcia played first base, Nunez ran his steals count for the spring up to six in six attempts. It's not yet clear exactly how Nunez will be deployed this season, but Garcia's defensive issues at the keystone could create more playing time than expected for his switch-hitting backup. Nunez's wheels are legit -- he stole 46 bases in 53 attempts between Triple-A and the majors over just 102 games in 2025 -- but he has yet to show he can hit big-league pitching consistently and is batting just .207 (6-for-29) this spring with an 8:9 BB:K.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Role still to be determined
Rotowire
Nunez has gone 5-for-27 (.185 average) with a 7:9 BB:K, three doubles, one RBI and four stolen bases through 12 Grapefruit League games this spring.
The 25-year-old is just 2-for-17 since the calendar flipped to March, but he's taking his walks, which is a good sign. He's also flashing his elite speed, reaching a sprint speed as high as 29.7 ft./sec earlier this spring, per Jessica Camerato of MLB.com. Nunez, who swiped 70 bags in the minors in 2022 and surpassed 50 steals again in 2023, remains in the mix at second base for a rebuilding Washington club that could decide to move Luis Garcia from the keystone to first base. Although he lacks power (13 career homers as a professional), Nunez is a reasonable flier in deep leagues as a potential one-category asset.
Nunez will start at second base and bat leadoff in Tuesday's contest versus Atlanta.
It's the fourth straight start for Nunez and the second straight day he's been in the leadoff spot. He enters play Tuesday having homered in back-to-back games and is 9-for-30 with four home runs and a stolen base in September. Nunez could continue to push Luis Garcia -- who is making his first-ever start at first base Tuesday -- for playing time at second base down the stretch.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Goes deep again
Rotowire
Nunez went 3-for-4 with a solo home run, an additional run scored and a walk in Monday's 11-5 loss against Atlanta.
Nunez jumped on the first pitch of the game and sent it the other way for a leadoff homer to give Washington an early edge, though the lead didn't last long in an eventual loss. The infielder has now gone deep in consecutive games and is swinging it well, producing a .939 OPS with four homers and nine RBI over his past 15 contests.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Goes deep in win
Rotowire
Nunez went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer during the Nationals' 3-2 win over the Mets on Sunday.
Nunez capped off the Nationals' three-run second inning with a two-run shot off Sean Manaea. Since being recalled from Triple-A Rochester on Sept. 1, he has gone 6-for-26 (.231 average) with three home runs, one steal and seven RBI. Nunez should continue to fill a utility role for the Nationals in the final week of the season, with most of his starts likely to come against left-handed pitching.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Pops first two career homers
Rotowire
Nunez went 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI in Wednesday's 10-5 win over the Marlins.
Getting the start at shortstop and batting ninth in his first action with the Nationals since June 8, Nunez connected on his first two career homers in his 75th big-league game, launching a solo shot off Eury Perez in the second inning and a two-run blast against Luarbert Arias in the eighth. Nunez isn't known for his power -- he has only nine career homers in the minors -- but if he gets semi-regular playing time in September, he could make an impact on the basepaths. Between Triple-A and the majors this season, the 25-year-old infielder has gone 44-for-51 on stolen base attempts over 86 games.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Back with big club
Rotowire
The Nationals recalled Nunez from Triple-A Rochester on Monday.
Nunez has seen spot duty at the big-league level this season, slashing only .186/.271/.233 in 23 contests. He will likely operate mainly as a reserve infielder.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Sent to Triple-A
Rotowire
Nunez was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after Sunday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers, Mark Zuckerman of MASNSports.com reports.
Nunez went 0-for-2 with a strikeout in the contest before being replaced at the plate by Robert Hassell in the bottom of the eighth inning. Nunez will return to Rochester after being called up April 12, posting a disappointing .186 average with two doubles, five RBI, six runs scored and seven stolen bases over 43 at-bats in 23 games with the Nationals. It's unclear who will be replacing Nunez on the major-league roster, but Washington will have an extra day to think about it with an off day Monday before heading to New York to face the Mets for a three-game set beginning Tuesday.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Shines in rare start
Rotowire
Nunez went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored, an RBI and a stolen base in Friday's win over the Orioles.
Starting at second base and batting ninth, Nunez made a diving catch on a Gunnar Henderson line drive for the first out in the bottom of the first inning, and he continued to make an impact the rest of the night, both on offense and on defense. The switch-hitting utility player had just one plate appearance in May coming into Friday, but with Amed Rosario (leg) banged up and Paul DeJong (face) still more than a month away from his expected return, Nunez could find his way into the lineup more often in the short term.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Shifts back to reserve role
Rotowire
Nunez is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the Mets.
Nunez made nine straight starts from April 14 through this past Wednesday, but he's since shifted to the bench following top shortstop CJ Abrams' return from the injured list Thursday. So long as Abrams remains healthy, Nunez is expected to see infrequent opportunities as a utility infielder.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Getting third straight start
Rotowire
Nunez will start at shortstop and bat ninth in Wednesday's game against the Pirates.
With Paul DeJong (nose) joining CJ Abrams (hip) on the injured list Tuesday, Nunez looks as though he could have a clear path to regular playing time in the short term. He had already started at shortstop in the Nationals' previous two games, going 4-for-7 with a double, a stolen base, two runs and two RBI.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Recalled by Washington
Rotowire
The Nationals recalled Nunez from Triple-A Rochester on Saturday.
Nunez wasn't able to make the Nationals' Opening Day roster despite a strong showing in spring training, but he'll be called up to the big club following the placement of CJ Abrams (hip) on the 10-day injured list. Nunez was slashing .192/.323/.192 with five stolen bases and three RBI across 31 plate appearances in Triple-A before his promotion to the majors.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Misses Opening Day roster
Rotowire
The Nationals optioned Nunez to Triple-A Rochester on Friday.
Nunez turned heads in Nationals camp with a .419/.486/.484 slash line through 35 plate appearances and seemed to be making a real push for the Opening Day roster. He'll instead begin the season in Triple-A, which will allow the 24-year-old infielder to continue developing while playing every day -- something he wouldn't have been able to do in Washington.
... See More... See Less
Nationals' Nasim Nunez: Forcing tough decision on Nats
Rotowire
Nunez may be playing his way onto the Opening Day roster, Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports reports.
This was not part of the plan for the 24-year-old Nunez, a Rule 5 pick in 2024 who essentially lost a year of development while spending the whole season on the Washington bench and seeing just 78 plate appearances over 51 games. He's been one of the standouts in camp for the Nats, batting .419 (13-for-31) with a 3:4 BB:K and seven steals in nine attempts while playing excellent defense, and he is making a strong case for a utility spot on the 26-man roster. CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia are locked in at shortstop and second base however, so the most likely scenario is for Nunez to begin the year in a starting middle-infield role with Triple-A Rochester -- a level he has yet to play at after being plucked from Double-A in the Marlins' organization last year.
1:03
9:27
0:41
12:52
1:35
0:40
1:44
8:20
0:31
0:43
1:28
1:20
1:31
1:54
0:25
0:40
1:01
10:24
1:08
10:23
