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Washington Nationals: Top Five Offseason Storylines To Watch

By Ricky Keeler

Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker walks into the dugout prior to game five of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 13, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals manager Dusty Baker walks into the dugout prior to game five of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports /
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Washington Nationals
Oct 1, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals catcher Pedro Severino (29) makes a throw to first base against the Miami Marlins in the seventh inning at Nationals Park. The Nationals won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Do The Nats Add Another Veteran Catcher?

Before Wilson Ramos tore his ACL, the storyline would be whether or not Ramos would be re-signed after a career season. Ramos hit .307 with 22 home runs and 80 RBI’s to go with a .354 on-base percentage. Now, at age 29 and after a second ACL surgery, will the Nats bring back Ramos?

Right now, with Ramos out of the picture, Pedro Severino and Jose Lobaton are the two catchers on the 25-man roster. Severino showed good things in a limited amount of time with hiss strong defense behind the plate, but his offense has to improve in order to be an everyday catcher.

Lobaton is under team control for one more season and the pitchers do like throwing to him behind the plate. As for the offense, he did have the big home run off Rich Hill in Game 2, but he is not a player known for excelling with the bat.

If the Washington Nationals don’t bring back Ramos, they could go the free agent route or the trade route to find their next catcher. With their history of signing Scott Boras clients, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters could be an option. This season, Wieters hit double-digit home runs (17) for the first time since 2013, which was the last time he played in more than 100 games until this season (124).

As for the trade route, a name that has been floated out there is Yankees catcher Brian McCann. With Gary Sanchez the catcher of the future in New York, McCann could be a good trade option for the Nats. He only has two more years left on his deal, he can hit 20+ home runs, and he has played 130+ games in three straight seasons.

Severino and Lobaton are decent options, but if the Nats are going to replace Ramos and add some depth to this lineup, they need to go out and get another catcher that can drive in runs. Wieters and McCann are good examples of that.

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