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Washington Nationals: Three injuries which derailed the season

By James Simmons

Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals walks off the field with trainer Paul Lessard after coming out of the game in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 14, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals walks off the field with trainer Paul Lessard after coming out of the game in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 14, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg is just one of the big names to hit the injury list this season.
AUGUST 14: Stephen Strasburg #37 of the Washington Nationals walks off the field with trainer Paul Lessard after coming out of the game in the first inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on August 14, 2020 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

There have been several factors which have played into the Washington Nationals having such a poor season. Injuries are one of them.

While we sit around and wait for rock bottom, or our 2020 equivalent to the 19-31 moment when the team gets the season headed in the right direction, we can ponder what went wrong for the Washington Nationals this season.

There are several factors which come to mind, including poor pitching and lousy defense. One aspect which may have had the biggest influence on the team was the injury bug. He bit early and he bit often. In some cases his jaws are still firmly clamped on players.

Entering the season the Nationals had the oldest average age of any team in Major League Baseball at 30.1 years.

Old bodies are apt to break down, especially with the start and stop spring training, summer camp schedule the players dealt with due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Where the problem arises is the lack of depth the team has to cover these injuries. Recently MLB Pipeline came out with their rankings of all team’s farm systems. The Washington Nationals checked in dead last on the list.

Hard to institute the “next man up” mentality when the next man up isn’t a proven entity in the league.

Regardless, at the major league level, teams need to be able to adapt and utilize what they have to win games. The Nationals have not been able to do this in 2020.

Here is a look at the top three injuries this year which have impacted the Washington Nationals.

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