Washington Nationals: Offseason Approach
By Reese Evans
Injuries, struggling player development and in-season trades.
When you ask Washington Nationals fans to describe the 2022 season those are often words you hear. There have been multiple signings by Mike Rizzo that are considered “failures”. Nelson Cruz, Cèsar Hernandez and Steve Cishek have gotten to the point where Nationals fans dread to see them take opportunities from younger players. The front office of the Nationals has clearly established their approach to the future: rebuild mode. Trading Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres was a clear indication of Rizzo’s intention to restock the farm system that has been criticized for its lacking player development. The front office is clearly looking towards the future. What about the present? What approach should Mike Rizzo and company take moving into the 2023 season? Here are some questions that the Washington Nationals need to answer this offseason.
Starting Pitching
Experiments like Joan Adon, who is second highest on the team with 12 losses, only started 14 games for the team. Patrick Corbin, who is known for his dominance in the 2019 World Series run, has lost 18 games to date. Josiah Gray has given up a major league worst 37 home runs. These are just three examples of statistics that will not suffice if the team wants to improve. Davey Martinez and his staff have not been able to “fix” Patrick Corbin for 3 years and cannot solve Josiah Gray’s home run problem.
These are beginning to become staff issues. Austin Voth, who had a 10.13 ERA with the Nationals and was designated for assignment, has posted a 2.84 ERA in 73.0 innings pitched with the Baltimore Orioles. If this does not send a shockwave to Mike Rizzo and the entire front office, there is a much bigger problem in Washington than meets the eye. A coaching overhaul is obvious, it is just a matter of time before Davey Martinez and his staff are let go. These issues are far too common with the Nationals starting pitchers.
Hitting for Power
The Nationals do not hit home runs. It is as simple as that statement. Juan Soto, who was traded at the trade deadline, still leads the team in home runs with 21. Josh Bell is still second in home runs with 14, and he was also traded with Juan Soto. The only hitters in the lineup that are producing power are Lane Thomas and Joey Meneses. Joey Four Bags, as Nationals fans know him as, has burst into the majors after being a 10 year minor leaguer. He has 57 hits in his first 43 games as a major leaguer, with 10 of those being home runs. Joey has been arguably the brightest story of the Nationals 2022 season.
But how long does his power surge continue? There are question marks about Meneses, will he carry his hot surge into the 2023 season and be a power source for the Nationals lineup?If he comes down to earth, who supplies the power? Luke Voit is an option, he is a seasoned who has light tower power, but has lots of swing and miss to his game. Nationals fans surely hope Nelson Cruz is not an option, as he was a swing and miss signing for Mike Rizzo. The Nationals do not have lots of homegrown power.
The lineup will depend on players like Luis Garcia, Keibert Ruiz and CJ Abrams to continue to develop their power as their careers progress. Another route for Rizzo and company to go is free agency, but how much is the team willing to spend on players if their intention is to rebuild? Joey Gallo, who is coming off his odd stint with the Yankees followed by a bounce back performance with the Dodgers, is a solid option for power. He could be willing to sign a one year “prove it” contract with the intention of being moved to a contender at the deadline. There are multiple routes for the Nationals to go this off-season to solve their lack of power in the lineup. Free agency will be an interesting time for Mike Rizzo and his staff. The teams that make the postseason hit for power, and the Nationals will need to take progressive steps this off-season if they want to improve on that skill.
Player Development
The 2022 season has been very disappointing due to the product on the field by the major league team. Another sore spot for Nationals fans this year is minor league development. Coming into the season Cade Cavalli, the team’s top pitching prospect, was fighting for a rotation spot, according to Davey Martinez. Fast forward to September, he has made one start in the major leagues and is on the injured list with shoulder inflammation.
Brady House, the teams top position player coming into the season has not appeared in a game since June 11 due to back stiffness. The team has been very quiet about House, only saying that the intention is for him to be ready for spring training in 2023. Cole Henry, who for a large part of the season was on the fast track to the major leagues, has gone down with thoracic outlet syndrome, an injury that has plagued the Nationals. Stephen Strasburg and Will Harris both are in recovery from the surgery and have not been the same pitchers. Although Henry is much younger than Strasburg and Harris, the odds are very much against Cole to regain his form.
On Wednesday September 21, De Jon Watson, Nationals director of player development, announced that the team fired Double-A Manager Tripp Keister. This seems to be the first of many moves to overhaul the team’s minor league developmental staff. The Nationals minor league system has players with exciting upside. Elijah Green, Nationals top 2022 MLB Draft selection, has 30 home run potential while playing a stellar center field. The Nationals also selected pitcher Jake Bennett and third baseman Trey Lipscomb with their next two picks, respectively. The top 30 prospect list has seen a complete overhaul this season after acquiring Robert Hassell, James Wood, Mackenzie Gore, CJ Abrams and Jarlin Susana through trade. Mike Rizzo has a track record of valuing prospects highly, as he acquired both Josiah Gray and Keibert Ruiz in the last year. Both were top 100 prospects overall and top 5 in the Los Angeles Dodgers system.
The solution to fix this glaring problem in the organization is through outside hiring. Take the Los Angeles Dodgers for example. They have consistently produced major league players through the MLB Draft to keep their team competitive. They have also signed players through free agency but have always had a homegrown core. The Dodgers hire top notch talent in their scouting and player development departments, and their consistency shows it. This is arguably the most important aspect of the Washington Nationals, as the team is dependent on the development of minor league players to have success in the future. Trading away a generational talent like Juan Soto has resulted in Mike Rizzo getting slander from Nationals fans, but we will not know for at least 3 to 4 years how the trade will fully impact the state of the organization.