Every season, Spring Training brings about an interesting time for all 30 MLB teams. Prospects are evaluated against each other, veteran players are viewed to see if they have anything left in the tank, and teams prepare for the long grind of the season ahead of them. The Nationals are ripe with questions, mainly concerning the development of Victor Robles, Carter Kieboom, and Luis Garcia as they find their spots on the team and how new pieces Josh Bell and Kyle Schwarber will fit into the lineup. But a question that is not being asked enough is whether catcher Yan Gomes can produce enough as the club’s primary catcher.

Gomes arrived in Washington D.C. in 2019, fresh off an All-Star season with the Indians the year before. The Nationals traded for Gomes from Cleveland, sending back minor leaguers Jefry Rodríguez (who’s back in D.C., by the way), Daniel Johnson, and PTBNL Andruw Monasterio. Appearing in 97 games in the regular season for the Nats that year, Gomes batted .223/.316/.389, with a .704 OPS and 12 home runs versus 84 strikeouts. He also appeared in 11 postseason games during the World Series run, hitting .241/.290/.310, helping the team win their first championship. 

Gomes’ 2020 was an interesting case study in a shortened season that saw many players struggle. Splitting catching duties with Kurt Suzuki as he did in 2019, Gomes caught all 30 games in which he appeared, compiling a .284/.319/.468 slash-line that was heavily lifted up by a hot streak in the last 3 weeks of the season. Despite that streak, however, the Nationals compiled a dismal 10-20 record in the games Gomes caught while they went 16-14 in those started by Suzuki. Zuk has since departed in free agency and signed with the Angels.

For Yan Gomes, these stats can be partially explained by a few things that were truly out of his control. Gomes has been the catcher for Patrick Corbin ever since they both arrived in D.C. in the same offseason. Corbin was average at best in 2020, compiling a 4.66 ERA with multiple solid starts spoiled by the bullpen (most notably a blown lead to the New York Yankees in the first weekend of the season).

Gomes commonly split doubleheaders with Suzuki, and would usually end up featuring in lineups that had key players resting. Gomes’ hot streak at the end of the season was a signal that he could provide meaningful at-bats for the team, and even though he has consistently displayed great defensive play (.993 fielding percentage), his offensive skill was still down for most of the year.

Although the Nationals have brought in a few other options for the catching position in 2021, most notably Alex Avila (who has familiarity with both Corbin and Max Scherzer), Nats GM Mike Rizzo has stated that Gomes is expected to make between 90 and 110 starts behind the plate for the team in 2021. Rizzo’s statement brings us to a simple conclusion: the team’s fortunes in 2021 will rely heavily on Yan Gomes.

Simply put, the young guys are question marks. The team is prepared for them to either go wild or slump. Garcia and Kieboom both still have time to hone their skills, with the Nats and potentially in AAA. Victor Robles is a great defensive option, and although the team would love for him to finally produce offensively, they are willing to work with him regardless. Gomes, on the other hand, will likely fill an 8 spot vying for production, especially with the absence of the DH in the National League this season.

The Nats notably picked up more quality wins towards the end of the season, when Gomes began getting hot and showing flashes of what got him a Silver Slugger Award in 2014 with Cleveland. But early on in the season, and even in 2019 to an extent, the team’s offense seemed to slouch when he was unable to bring runners home, despite the production of the lineup as a whole.

If Gomes is able to produce, he will be a huge complement to a lineup already hoping for bounce back years from their new acquisitions in Bell and Schwarber. If he is unable to bat over .230, which would be a repeat of 2019, the Nationals will be forced to find other ways to get production from the catcher spot. Despite Alex Avila being a great defensive option, he has lost much of his batting ability, and has not hit over .240 since 2017. Other alternatives, including Spring Training NRIs Blake Swihart and Welington Castillo and roster occupants Raudy Read and Tres Barrera truly do not have the propensity to provide meaningful at-bats.

The Nationals will live and die with Yan Gomes in 2021. There’s simply no other way to put it. A great season can give the team breathing room to let their young guys develop while taking pressure off stars Juan Soto and Trea Turner. A bad season would completely void the value of the 8-hole, force the team to explore other catcher options, and sink the season in general. Gomes heads into 2021 with the team depending on him to start triple digit games, something he hasn’t done in 3 years. He has the numbers to do it. The question is, will he be able to find a way to bring them back?