The Washington Nationals are keeping home grown outfielder Jacob Young in the District for at least the foreseeable future.
News broke Friday morning that the Washington Nationals have agreed to a four-year, $23 million extension with its center fielder, plus an $8 million club option for a fifth season. It’s a well-deserved deal for Jacob Young who has made his mark defensively and shown encouraging improvement at the plate this year.
Young’s extension comes on the heels of the four-year, $47 million deal with Cade Cavalli signed back in September, which also includes a club option. Young joins starting pitcher Cade Cavalli as another home grown player who has signed to a contract extension. (more on that later)
Young’s bat is starting to catch up
The Nationals selected Young in the seventh round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and he has been the team’s primary center fielder since 2024. His glove has never been much of a question, however, the bigger concern has been whether he would hit enough to stick as an everyday player.
This season offered some reason for optimism.
Young hit .252/.318/.390 with 10 home runs and a .708 OPS in 2026, taking a significant step forward offensively. There were improvements underneath those numbers, too:
His barrel rate jumped from 1.9% to 5.7%.
His barrels per plate appearance increased from 1.4% to 4.2%.
His squared-up rate reached 32.6%, putting him in the 92nd percentile league-wide.
In 2025, Young struggled at the plate, hitting .231/.296/.287 with two home runs, 31 RBIs, 65 strikeouts and 34 runs scored over 364 plate appearances. His .583 OPS was the lowest of his major league career.
During the offseason, Young made training at Driveline a priority as he worked to adjust his approach at the plate. Those changes appear to have helped him put together the best offensive season of his career.
Young embraced new training methods and took a fresh look at who he was and who he could become as a hitter. The goal was to produce more at the plate without losing the skills that had helped him reach the majors.
This year, he struck out just 78 times in 471 plate appearances across 140 games, a strikeout rate of 16.6%. He also finished with 50 RBIs and 57 runs scored. For a player whose value already starts with his defense, those gains at the plate make this deal more intriguing.
That doesn’t mean Young has suddenly become a finished product offensively. His career batting line sits at .248/.312/.339, so there is still room for improvement. The Nationals’ front office is betting that the progress he showed in 2026 will carry over into 2027.
In the field, Young has earned a reputation as one of baseball’s best defenders. His highlight-reel catches have frequently ranked among the season’s standout plays, showcasing his ability to turn difficult chances into outs. Those catches have also helped make him a fan favorite in Washington.
Why the deal makes sense for Jacob Young and the Nationals
Young has also hit left-handed pitching well, posting a .282/.353/.423 line against lefties this season. That gives him another way to contribute, even if he eventually settles into a fourth-outfielder role. His defense provides a foundation for his value, while his improvement at the plate gives Washington reason to believe he can remain an everyday player.
Over his career with the Nationals, Young has collected 328 hits, 15 home runs and 129 RBIs in 1,320 at-bats. His .651 career OPS reflects the offensive struggles that preceded this season, but his .708 mark in 2026 represents an encouraging improvement.
At 27, he gets financial security heading into what would have been his first trip through arbitration. Washington, meanwhile, retains a strong defensive center fielder whose bat is showing signs of life. The deal gives both sides some certainty as the Washington Nationals front office continue shaping their roster for the coming seasons.
I like the move. Young doesn’t need to become a middle-of-the-order hitter to make this contract worthwhile. If he keeps playing excellent defense and maintains the progress he made at the plate this season, the Nationals should feel good about this investment an fans should also.
Why it matters: How this deal fits into the Toboni Blueprint
President of Baseball Operations Paul Toboni appears to be putting his money where his mouth is. As he said, “We want players to know that if they come here and they work and they grow and they contribute, there is a pathway to being part of something long-term here.”
For Toboni, this deal is another step toward reshaping how the Washington Nationals develop talent, identify players worth building around, and retain them before the market makes that more difficult. It’s not just about keeping Young in Washington. It’s about establishing a connection between player development and the organization’s long-term roster decisions.
Young’s extension gives that message another concrete example for any future homegrown talent or some other star players that the team might or hopefully can sign with the Washington Nationals before the expiration of the current CBA. (Hint Hint; Cough Cough, CJ Abrams, James Wood)
Young put in the work to improve at the plate while continuing to contribute defensively, and Washington rewarded him with a longer commitment. That is the kind of progression Toboni described: an opportunity to grow, a chance to contribute and a pathway to staying.
The challenge now is turning that approach into sustained success. Extensions alone won’t build a contender, but identifying the right players and keeping them together can help create a foundation. For the Washington Nationals, it’s fans, and even the front office this deal represents another investment in the players they believe can be part of that future.
Who should the Nationals try to lock up next before December 1st? Let us know in the comments!
“I’ve hit my whole life, so getting to the big leagues and struggling was really hard.”
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