Washington Nationals: It’s sink or swim for the Nats in Miami

After the Washington Nationals had another disappointing series against the Milwaukee Brewers, it’s now do or die against the Miami Marlins at the weekend.

The Washington Nationals season is teetering on the edge, and it’s sink or swim time facing the Miami Marlins. A sweep almost feels necessary in this series.

Joining Blake Finney on the DoDCast is former District on Deck Site Expert, and current Call to the Pen contributor, Drew Douglas. You can check it out here.

On this episode, they look ahead to:

• The hit-or-miss series facing the Milwaukee Brewers
• Should we buy into the new Tanner Roark?
• Which players should we watch out for in Miami
• Preview and predict each matchup
• Discuss the Nationals plans at the trade deadline

More from District on Deck

• Washington Nationals: Is Seth Lugo Still an Option?
• Robots in Baseball? The Possibility of an Automated Ball/Strike System in the MLB
• Washington Nationals Re-Sign RHP Erasmo Ramirez
• Washington Nationals Sign RHP Trevor Williams
• Washington Nationals find Success in First Draft Lottery

Once again, a lot of Nationals fan’s eyes will be fixed on catcher J.T. Realmuto. He continues to be linked to the Nats, and this time they may offer up Victor Robles to get it done. Realmuto has made himself a franchise cornerstone typed player, ranking 19th in baseball in WAR, despite missing time at the start of the season.

Starlin Castro has also been on a tear for the Marlins of late. Over the last 30 days, he’s hitting .347 with 5 homers, 13 RBI and has a .916 OPS. He may end up being another piece of trade bait on the Marlins roster, but assuming he faces the Nats, he’ll be a namer to watch out for.

For the Nationals, with a four-game series, it will be interesting to see how the playing time is divided between Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Adams.

Zimmerman has just returned from the disabled list and started the first two games against the Brewers. But Adams has arguably been the team’s most consistent hitter, therefore deserves to at least be starting against most right-handers. Expect Zimmerman to starts against left-hander Trevor Richards, and one other game over the weekend, with Adams drawing the other two starts.

Want to hear more about the Washington Nationals on our DoDCast? You can subscribe to us on iTunes or Google Play and have episodes automatically downloaded for you. You can also listen to us on other podcast platforms such as Stitcher and Spreaker.

The Washington Nationals have had many supposed turning points in this season, but not carried it over to the next few games. Now they need to carry it over against the Miami Marlins, or risk being left for dead.