Last season injuries continued to pile up and unlike 2019, Washington was unable to dig themselves out of their early hole. After two straight years of being plagued by the injury bug, what makes people think it won’t strike again? Instead of pushing this core into the ground and causing irreparable damage, it is time to shed payroll and look to the future. Restock the farm system. Give Luis Garcia and Carter Kieboom full-time opportunities to see if they can stick. And most importantly, build around Juan Soto.
Soto is the future and locking him up now is the way to go. He has already emerged as a top five-hitter in the game, is only 22, and has yet to reach arbitration. (Though that might change with the Super Two.) Washington could also tackle the rebuild without including Turner and keeping the veteran for the future. A thing to note is it might be hard for the Nationals to include Strasburg in a trade, only a year after signing him to a monster extension. After all, they choose to keep him over Anthony Rendon. Staying optimistic and continuing to bank on free agency and trades is a dangerous route to follow in the Nationals current state. With so much money tied up, an empty farm, and an aging core, saying goodbye is the smart route.