What does the Washington Nationals extension of Jacob Young mean for Dylan Crews?

Yesterday the Nats made a big move by extending Jacob Young. Paul Toboni inked the Nats center fielder to a 4-year $23 million deal with an option for a 5th year. We broke down the deal itself yesterday, but now I want to look at the bigger picture. Specifically, I want to examine what this means for Dylan Crews.

With the Young deal, the Nats now have James Wood, Daylen Lile, Dylan Crews and Young under team control into the 2030's. On the one hand, that is a great group of outfielders to have around for years to come. However, it also creates a surplus that you can trade from.

We know that Paul Toboni is not afraid to trade from a surplus. The most prominent example of that was the Curtis Mead trade, where he dealt a bat for an arm in Connelly Early. With Young locked up, the Nats now have a chance to make a similar sort of deal again.

Entering this offseason, I looked at either Dylan Crews or Jacob Young as potential trade pieces. They both profile as athletic, defense first right handed outfielders who are better against left handed pitching. Crews' pedigree, raw power and bat speed give him a higher offensive ceiling. However, Young is the better defender and had an OPS 45 points higher last season. Now that Young has been extended, a trade is likely to be off the table.

After this extension, I would bet executives have been calling Paul Toboni and asking about Dylan Crews. Obviously Crews has not lived up to his potential so far as a pro, but there are still traits to dream on for other teams. His bat speed, hard hit rate, barrel rate and average exit velocity are all above the 60th percentile. Crews also provided positive value as a defender and baserunner.

There would be plenty of teams that would be willing to take a shot on the 24 year old former top prospect. A Blue Jays fan account, who I think puts out very smart content, talked about how he either wanted Crews or Jacob Young. It makes sense for them, and plenty of other teams also need outfield help.

Now that Young is off the board, Crews would be the one to trade. However, a move is far from a given. We saw last season that there is enough playing time for both of them to get at least semi-regular at bats. The Nats used a DH rotation last year, which often allowed them to have Wood, Crews, Lile and Young in the lineup at the same time. There is no reason they cannot do this again.

The Young extension is also not total proof that the regime is out on Crews. At $5.75 million per year, the Nats are not exactly paying Young like a set in stone everyday starter. He will get plenty of playing time, but this extension does not automatically mean he will play every day.

It does mean that Young is in the team's long term plans though. If the right offer comes for Crews, I have no doubt that Toboni would pull the trigger. A Crews trade is certainly something worth monitoring. However, I do not necessarily think he is being shopped.

As for Crews himself, his 2026 season was very frustrating. It was not all bad, but there was just never enough consistency. Whenever he did something good, he was unable to take that momentum and run with it. The best example of this came after he got the Nats first walkoff hit in August. I thought this had a chance to be a real turning point for him, but instead he went 0 for 11 in the three games afterwards.

That pretty much summarizes his Nats tenure so far. However, he is entering his age 25 season and has shown flashes of excellence. If you do trade him, you run the risk of seeing him realize his potential with another team. On the other hand, it could also be the last time he has any real value. After the Young extension, this is a really interesting decision Paul Toboni has to make.

You see the talent when you watch Dylan Crews, but in 225 big league games, Crews has a .217 average and .648 OPS. That is simply not good enough for the former second overall pick. As we enter the offseason, the Nats have a decision to make. Do they give Crews another chance or is Paul Toboni happy to roll out an outfield of Lile, Young and Wood while getting the assets he can for Crews?

With the lockout less than a month away, we could get answers to that question pretty soon. There are cases for both sides, but I would certainly be listening to Crews trade offers now. I do not think there is any urgency to trade him, but after this Young extension, teams will definitely be calling about Crews. What would you guys do with the former LSU star?