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Washington Nationals: Four players who need to bounce back in 2019

By Blake Finney

ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 01: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals looks at his injured hand before leaves the game with an injury during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on June 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JUNE 01: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals looks at his injured hand before leaves the game with an injury during the seventh inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on June 1, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/Getty Images) /
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Washington Nationals Brian Dozier
(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Brian Dozier

On Sunday, the Washington Nationals officially announced they had signed Brian Dozier to a $9 million, one-year deal. He’ll be hoping to have a big bounce-back season in 2019 as he looks to head into next offseason in a much better position than he was this winter.

After his first six big league season, Dozier appeared set for a big payday heading into his contract season. He had a career .251/.327/.452 slash line with 151 home runs, 429 RBI, 90 stolen bases and a 111 OPS+ as one of the most productive second baseman in the league.

But by his lofty standards, he was woeful in 2018, slashing just .215/.305/.391 with 21 homers that led to an 88 OPS+. However, some of these struggles appear to be down to a bone bruise that he picked up during the season, so a bounce-back seems like a good bet.

Dozier also appears keen to prove people wrong in 2018 as he told Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports that “going into this year, personally you kind of have a chip on your shoulder.” It seems as though it’s a situation he thrives in as he also said “you want to prove people wrong, I guess you could say. I felt like I’ve done that throughout my career. I had to do that. Which is perfectly fine with me, because I enjoy that.”

While Dozier has only really been brought in to fill the gap between now and when Carter Kieboom is ready, a rebound effort would give the Nationals some much-needed power in 2019. If he reaches his ceiling, then he would help form one of the deepest lineups in all of baseball, assuming he slots in at either sixth or seventh in the order.

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