Washington Nationals: Ranking the team’s remaining needs this offseason
By Blake Finney
While the Washington Nationals have been one of the busiest teams this offseason, there are still needs to fill. We rank each of the remaining needs.
After a disappointing 2018 season, the Washington Nationals have been quick to fill most of their holes already this offseason. Mike Rizzo is officially a man on a mission this winter, but there are still the last few remaining spots to fill on the roster.
Thankfully, the biggest needs are already filled as we head towards 2019. Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes are onboard and will likely form one of the better catching tandems in the entire league, fixing a perennial weakness for the Nats.
The bullpen has also been bolstered with intriguing names in Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal forming a solid late-inning trio with Sean Doolittle. Then the biggest acquisition of all, Patrick Corbin, gives the Nats that third ace they were so desperate for this offseason.
Finally, on Saturday night, the Nationals managed to bring back valuable first baseman Matt Adams. In total, there have been seven additions this offseason, including Tanner Rainey from the Cincinnati Reds, which leaves just a few more items on Rizzo’s Christmas wishlist.
It’s not necessarily surprising that the Nats have been able to address all their needs, but the fashion that they’ve done it is a pleasant surprise. With the Bryce Harper situation looming over the team, they could’ve easily waited that out first, but instead, they’ve attacked the offseason hard, which is the best possible strategy.
In this piece, we rank the top five remaining needs for the Nationals from highest priority to lowest priority. Our list starts off with the position that Rizzo believes in the most to carry his team back to the postseason.