Washington Nationals are set to part ways with Juan Yepez Following a season.

First base is famously the easiest position to field in baseball. You don’t notice your typical first baseman on defense, because they don’t do much. It’s so easy, in fact, that you can get just about anybody to learn first base in a day or two and run them out there in a big league game, no problem. Convert anybody with a bad glove to first base, be they infielder, outfielder, catcher, ex-pro cricket player. What about the fans in the stands? They’ll do just fine. Baseball is mostly a game of standing around, and the first baseman is the champion of just standing there. There’s a famous quote that says “It’s incredibly easy” about first base. Or something like that, I can’t quite remember how it goes.

The defensive end doesn’t matter, or it may as well not matter based on the list of error-prone behemoths that MLB teams employ at the cold corner. If Adam Dunn can play 500 games as a big league first baseman, that’s evidence enough that what you do on offense is much more important. Historically, the Nationals have had solid, run-producing performances from their first basemen ever since Adam Dunn and Nick Johnson manned the station. That lasted until just recently, and now the position is in an extreme state of uncertainty for the club.

Joey Meneses was incredible when he replaced Juan Soto on the roster in 2022 and hit as if he were Juan Soto for two months. Shortly thereafter, it was revealed that Meneses’ ability to siphon hitting abilities from Juan Soto was merely a temporary blessing. Meneses struggled through a much less impressive 2023 season, but his poor hitting as a DH was overshadowed by even worse numbers throughout the lineup, especially by Dominic Smith. Meneses replaced Smith at first base for this season but had been an absolute nightmare at the plate before finally being optioned with a .231/.291/.302 line at the plate. Goodness, that is a horrific slugging percentage. Juan Soto is doing better than ever, for what that’s worth.

Goodbye, Joey, and may your memories of 2022 never fade. It seems unlikely that the Nationals would call his number again, but he remains on the 40-man roster and could be recalled in case of an injury. His days as a full-time starter may be over, though, and that means it’s time to meet a new all-bat no-glove journeyman type, because that’s what a team does when they need a first baseman. Welcome to DC, Juan Yepez.