Today’s District Daily features stories on the Washington Nationals’ bullpen moves and the Mets’ chances of repeating as NL East champions.
Good evening DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily. Get caught up on the latest Nats news and opinions with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, Press Box D.C.’s David Driver discusses whether or not the Nationals’ bullpen makeover will pay off in 2016. As Driver notes, the Nationals completely overhauled their bullpen this offseason and it’ll be up to several new relievers to overcome the team’s bullpen struggles of 2015.
Drew Storen, David Carpenter, Casey Janssen, Matt Thornton and Craig Stammen will all be wearing different uniforms next season. The Nationals replaced them with the likes of Trevor Gott, Shawn Kelley, Oliver Perez and Yusmeiro Petit.
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The bullpen was undoubtedly the Nationals’ biggest weakness last season. And although the ‘pen still has several question marks (namely, Jonathan Papelbon), the bullpen appears to be deep and talented enough to help lead the Nationals to the postseason in 2016. Only time will tell if the bullpen Mike Rizzo assembled this offseason can make up for last year’s disaster.
Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga previews the NL East in 2016,including why he believes the Mets will win the division again next season.
Be sure to check out both articles below, and as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington National needs.
Will Bullpen Makeover Payoff For Nationals?
Last season, the bullpen was one of the Nationals’ biggest weaknesses.
So guess which area of the roster has seen the most changes this offseason?
That would be the bullpen, which has undergone a bigger makeover than some of the real estate sites beyond the center-field gates at Nationals Park.
Relievers who pitched for the Nationals in 2015 and are no longer with the team include Drew Storen, Casey Janssen, David Carpenter, Matt Thornton and Craig Stammen. Read full article here.
Why the New York Mets will win the NL East in 2016
(Barry Svrluga, Washington Post)
Football is over. Finally. Still, pitchers and catchers don’t report for, in most cases, at least another 10 days. Seems interminable, right?
So we offer a way to bridge the gap, to put behind the Super Bowl and move on to warmer feelings: Team previews, broken down by division. Yes, Opening Day is nearly two months off. Sure, there are still some free agents available (Ian Desmond, Yovani Gallardo, etc.) who could alter pennant races.
But you have to pick sometime. Our time is now. We start with the National League East. Read full article here.