Washington Nationals: Three bold predictions for 2021

Three bold predictions for the 2021 Washington Nationals team, who are coming off a miserable, injury plagued, 2020 season.

Aside from a few minor league contracts being signed and the Josh Bell Christmas Eve trade, the offseason has been relatively quiet for the Washington Nationals. We are just days away from turning the calendar to 2021, closing the book on a brutal 2020 year (in baseball and in general).

There is still a lot to do in free agency (and possibly on the trade front) as the Nationals sit with 34 players on the 40-man roster. As we wait around for the final pieces of the puzzle to be put in place, we turn our attention to 2021 and what we do know.

We know the Nationals will need their veteran pitching staff to pitch better. Staying healthy will go a long ways with this.

We know the Nationals will have to play better defense and take advantage of scoring opportunities when they arise. Adding Josh Bell’s bat to the lineup is a great start, though there are still moves to be made.

We know Max Scherzer comes off the books after the season while Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin will have another year’s worth of innings on their arms by the end of said season.

All that to say, let’s make a few bold predictions for the 2021 season.