Brady House is important to the Nationals' future - The Washington Post

On Friday night, after Mike Rizzo promised that the Washington Nationals’ next championship core will include players acquired at this trade deadline and in the past few drafts, a key piece of his vision sat six rows behind home plate.

No, Brady House wasn’t on the field. He is only 18, after all, and spent the afternoon signing with the Nationals, who drafted him 11th overall in July. But House, a big shortstop who could move to third in the coming years, will headline Washington’s next wave of prospects, behind Keibert Ruiz, Josiah Gray, Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge. That a rebuild began on his first official day with the organization was a telling coincidence.

“It’s so exciting,” House said of being looped into Rizzo’s hope for the future. “That’s the thing you want to hear, that you’re going to help a team win a title one day. I think that that’s a really good compliment for the guys that are with me, and me as well, just trying to get up there and help the team.”

House signed for a $5 million bonus, according to two people with knowledge of the situation, convincing him to forego a commitment to the University of Tennessee. By Sunday’s deadline to sign players from the 2021 draft, the Nationals had agreed to terms with 18 of their 20 selections. Right-hander Mack Anglin, picked in the 13th round, will return to Clemson for his junior year. Elie Kligman, selected as a catcher in the 20th round, will enroll at Wake Forest.

The slot value for the 11th pick was $4.55 million. So to pay House above slot — which often happens for top high school players with major college commitments — the Nationals agreed to under-slot bonuses with outfielder Branden Boissiere (third round out of Arizona), left-hander Dustin Saenz (fourth round, Texas A&M), left-hander Michael Kirian (sixth round, Louisville) and right-hander Cole Quintanilla (ninth round, Texas).

Along with House, outfielder Daylen Lile (second round, Kentucky’s Trinity High), outfielder T.J. White (sixth round, South Carolina’s Dorman High) and outfielder Jacob Young (seventh round, University of Florida) also received more than their slot values. First baseman Will Frizzell (eighth round, Texas A&M) and second baseman Darren Baker (10th round, California) were signed at slot value. The amounts add up to a total bonus pool to sign players, meaning more for one pick typically leads to less for at least one other.

But teams can outspend their pools and be subject to tax penalties or the loss of a future pick. The Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have done so in each of the 10 years since the bonus pool was implemented, according to MLB.com’s Jim Callis.

The Nationals’ draft class is already training at their facility in West Palm Beach, Fla. And the big question with House is what position he’ll play. On draft night in mid-July, Kris Kline, the Nationals’ assistant general manager for amateur scouting, called House a solid shortstop who could eventually win a Gold Glove at third base. House, though, is set on sticking at shortstop until the Nationals decide otherwise.

They have a knack for drafting shortstops who can shift around the diamond. Carter Kieboom, a first-round pick in 2016, was selected as a shortstop and is currently getting another tryout as the major league third baseman. Luis García, 21 and a top shortstop in the minors, is up with the Nationals and splitting his time between short and second. Other recent examples are Jackson Cluff, Yasel Antuna, Sammy Infante and Armando Cruz, talented shortstops at different levels of Washington’s system. They also acquired Jordy Barley, a 21-year-old shortstop, by sending reliever Daniel Hudson to the San Diego Padres at the deadline.

House’s size — 6-foot-4, 215 pounds — makes a position change feel inevitable. But he has vowed to work on side-to-side quickness, hoping to stay at his natural spot. The Nationals, of course, traded Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers last week, turning shortstop into an open competition for the future.

“I feel like if I can stay at shortstop, I basically can play anywhere else on the field,” House said, describing how the team handled Kieboom and García and is likely to handle Cluff, Antuna, Barley, Infante and Cruz. The Nationals’ general logic is to develop shortstops, over and over, until there is a pressing need elsewhere. In that way, House is a perfect fit.

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Brady House is important to the Nationals' future - The Washington Post
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