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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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Juan Soto

Coming off a World Series Championship and playing in the opening game of the season for all of baseball, in front of a national television audience, was how the season started for the Nationals.

Unfortunately, hours before the highly anticipated first pitch against Gerrit Cole and the New York Yankees, word dropped Juan Soto was not going to play.

Instead he was going into quarantine for testing positive for COVID-19.

Soto, one of the rising stars in all of baseball, was on the shelf for eight games to start the season. The Nationals actually managed the time well while he was out, playing to a .500 record at 4-4.

They would have gotten out of the gate a little better though had Soto been in the lineup. In four of the first eight games, the Nationals scored two or less runs. Even with missing those eight games Soto is the team leader in home runs, runs batted in, and walks. Who knows what kind of offensive numbers he would have had, had he played in the first eight games.

There are a lot of holes with this team and hitting is not one of them. Clutch hitting, yes. Hitting as a whole, not so much. Having Soto for a full season may not have made a big difference. However, if they had him in the lineup and started 6-2 or 7-1, the momentum may have pushed them a little further this year.

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