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Washington Nationals: Five Bold Off-season moves to win the 2022 World Series

By Joseph Edelen

HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals celebrates in the locker room after defeating the Houston Astros in Game Seven to win the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros with a score of 6 to 2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TEXAS - OCTOBER 30: Juan Soto #22 of the Washington Nationals celebrates in the locker room after defeating the Houston Astros in Game Seven to win the 2019 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 30, 2019 in Houston, Texas. The Washington Nationals defeated the Houston Astros with a score of 6 to 2. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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HOUSTON, TEXAS – JULY 19: Justin Verlander #35 of the Houston Astros pitches during an intrasquad game as they continue with Summer Workouts at Minute Maid Park on July 19, 2020 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

Sign SP Justin Verlander

A move of this stature would instantly shake things up in the league and would signal that the Nationals are not going to wait around to compete. Even with Verlander coming off an injury, he is expected to be heavily sought after this offseason, and the Nationals should take full advantage of that.

Verlander was one of the best pitchers in baseball with the Astros in 2018 and 2019, even winning the AL Cy Young award in 2019. Despite his injury concerns, Verlander has been one of the league’s most consistent pitchers, and for a Nationals pitching staff that was much the opposite in 2021, the addition of Verlander would be huge.

Stephen Strasburg, Patrick Corbin, Joe Ross, and Josiah Gray are essentially locks to be in next year’s rotation, and should the Nats add Verlander, they’d instantly gain a top of the rotation arm. This rotation has a ton of potential, but given the injury history of Strasburg, Verlander, and Ross, they’d need to stay healthy to maximize its potential. If this Nationals’ rotation were to come to fruition, it could potentially be one of the league’s best.

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