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Washington Nationals: DoD Staff Discussing The Start To The 2022 Season

By Max Rayman

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Keibert Ruiz #20 of the Washington Nationals runs the bases against the New York Mets during game one of a doubleheader at Nationals Park on September 04, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 04: Keibert Ruiz #20 of the Washington Nationals runs the bases against the New York Mets during game one of a doubleheader at Nationals Park on September 04, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Luis García
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 29: Luis Garcia #2 of the Washington Nationals runs during the game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 29, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. The Rockies defeated the Nationals 10-5. (Photo by Rob Leiter/MLB Photos via Getty Images) /

What is the biggest takeaway so far?

Ryan: This is going to be a long rebuild whether people want to acknowledge that or not. They don’t have many pieces around the infield, pitching depth is an issue and the rotation will take a long long time to fix. Lane Thomas has shown he’s a platoon at best so there’s a hole in LF and Robles has been unable to prove he belongs in center. García is the only close in-house option for SS/2B, leaving a spot in the other middle infield position.  I can keep going, but basically, RF and C are all that’s certain currently. It’s going to be a painful 5+ years.

Max: The starting rotation is by far the Nats biggest weakness. Josiah Gray still needs to work on keeping the ball in the park, but has proven he is the real deal. Erick Fedde leads the team in ERA, but has been unable to fully turn a corner.  Behind them has been nothing but problems. Joan Adon has shown promise but may need to go back to AAA for more seasoning. Patrick Corbin has been doomed by bad defense and needs to be paired with Riley Adams if he is to have any success. Aaron Sanchez was solid in yesterday’s start, but besides that has been a disappointment (7.16 ERA).

Nick: This is going to be a long rebuild. This isn’t a 19-31 story. This is going to be the state of the Nats until a bonafide star emerges next to Juan Soto and the supporting cast perform to a level that the floor of this team raises significantly. They declined to make any significant signings for a building block in the offseason, which leads me to believe they are trying to replicate their Strasburg-Harper-Rendon strategy of tanking and letting the top draft picks save them, which takes time.

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