With the MLB Winter Meetings starting this weekend, the Washington Nationals are coming in hot after getting a lot of their business done already.
Usually, in baseball, the MLB Winter Meetings are when the offseason really kicks into gear. However, for the Washington Nationals, they come in with most of their biggest needs already addressed.
On a special edition of the DoDCast, Site Expert Blake Finney is joined by MLB.com’s Nationals beat reporter, Jamal Collier. You can check out the episode here.
On this episode, they talk about:
- The big Patrick Corbin signing for 6 years and $140 million
- What does this mean for Bryce Harper and his future in D.C.?
- Analyzing the rest of the offseason signings so far
- What’s likely to be next on the to-do list for the Nats
- A Winterfest recap and looking at the key storylines
- Answer some listener questions
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Obviously, the big news of the day came when former Arizona Diamondback Patrick Corbin agreed to sign with the D.C. team to give them another fearsome starting pitcher. His six-year, $140 million deal addresses one of the team’s biggest needs and once again gives them one of the best rotations in the league.
Collier and Finney also looked at and gave their thoughts on the rest of the acquisitions the Nationals have made this offseason, as GM Mike Rizzo refuses to wait around. He started off the offseason adding some bullpen help in Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal, before adding the catching pair of Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes. The latter two were particularly key after suffering through two years of poor production behind the plate.
What has been done already is a fantastic start to the offseason, but there are still several other areas for improvement for the Nats. Some of the other needs include another starting pitcher, a backup first baseman, an additional reliever and perhaps even a one-year upgrade at second base to keep the position warm for Carter Kieboom. Finney and Collier discuss some of the options they could look at to fill those holes.
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The Washington Nationals have been one of the most fascinating teams in baseball over the first month or so of the offseason. In a suddenly stacked NL East, they’re doing exactly what they need to try and get back to the postseason in 2019.