Washington Nationals: Why The Team Should Rebuild
By Max Rayman
Washington will want to avoid the fate of the San Fransisco Giants. From 2010-2014, the Giants won three World Series titles but haven’t made the playoffs since 2016. The Giants core started to age and regress, but instead of rebuilding, San Fransisco continued to go all-in until it was too late. The front office signed Johnny Cueto and Mark Melancon to large contracts which mostly backfired and ruined the team’s cap. Now the Giants have officially reached the end of their core. Many of their key pieces have either left in free agency/trades, retired, or were cut. The Giants have officially started to rebuild, but it will be a while before they return to contention. The Nationals have the opportunity to sell off before it’s too late.
Mike Rizzo should take a page out of the Chicago White Sox’s book. Back in December of 2016, they started their full-on fire sale which saw them ship out Adam Eaton and ace Chris Sale. In return, they received at the time, four top 100 prospects (Lucas Giolito, Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, and Reynaldo López) who have turned out to be crucial to their current core. Washington also included Dane Dunning who has started to emerge as another valuable starter. Chicago followed this up by sending Jose Quintana to the Chicago Cubs and received two additional top 100 prospects (Dylan Cease and Eloy Jimenez). 2020 saw the White Sox finally emerge and they reached the playoffs for the first time since 2008. The White Sox were in a slightly different situation than Washington. They had talented pieces but were unable to put it all together so they wisely started over. After years of being a top team, Washington is nearing the end of their road and should think about tearing it down. Washington has the star names to acquire a massive haul.