Washington Nationals: 3 things to change after Phillies series

Trea Turner needs to run more.

The obvious one here is Ryan Zimmerman replacing Josh Bell in the lineup on a daily basis. We’ve already covered that though.

Two Nationals players have stolen a base this year without being caught. Yadiel Herandez and Trea  Turner. Turner is a perfect 7 for 7. Normally, for a team who is struggling to score runs, one wouldn’t advocate for them to risk running into outs. Why would we want to potentially take the bat out of Juan Soto’s hands? Either risking taking a player off the bases with a caught stealing, or the opposition intentionally walking Soto with a newly vacant base.

However, the Nationals need to start forcing the issue in order to put some early runs on the board. A couple years ago, manager Davey Martinez said Turner was going to run, run, and run some more. A broken finger on a bunt attempt early in the season set this plan aside. For one of the fastest guys in the league, who happens to be a smart base runner, the Nationals need to take advantage of the opportunities when Trea gets on base.

The final game against the Phillies was an anomaly for two reasons. The Nationals scored first inning runs and they used home runs to get them. Entering the game, only three teams had hit fewer home runs than the Nationals. With the power shortage this year, they need to manufacture runs. Time for Trea Turner to start stealing more bases.