Earlier this week, Yahoo Sports released their offseason grades for all 30 MLB teams as we prepare for Spring Training, and the Washington Nationals received a grade that is honestly pretty accurate and appears to be a consensus among the fanbase.
While there are still a couple of names out there that the Nationals could potentially sign that would certainly increase their overall grade like Alex Bregman or Kenley Jansen, it appears as if the Nationals are going to wrap up a slightly underwhelming offseason, although the club definitely improved. Many fans, myself included, felt like this was the perfect time to surround the young core with a big free agent splash, but it seems as if ownership has no intention of giving the green light to any major spending at this time. Nonetheless, let's take a look at what grade Yahoo writers Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman chose to give the Nationals for their offseason so far.
Before I reveal the grade, I want you to take a second and think to yourself what grade you would give the Nationals for their offseason. In case you need a refresher on what moves the team made, they have signed Trevor Williams, Michael Soroka, Josh Bell, Jorge Lopez, Amed Rosario, and Shinnosuke Ogasawara to deals, and their big prize of the offseason was acquiring Nathaniel Lowe from the Texas Rangers. They have undoubtedly improved their lineup with the additions of Bell and Lowe, and the additions on the pitching side will all play a major role for the club this season.
To Mintz and Shusterman's credit, however, they pretty much hit the nail right on the head with their analysis and grading of the club's efforts thus far. They gave the Nationals a "C-" grade to this point, and they justified it by not criticizing the moves at all, given that the club should be somewhat improved, but that the front office missed a chance to significantly upgrade the club.
"The moves they’ve made aren’t bad in and of themselves — retaining Williams fortifies the rotation’s floor, while Lowe immediately becomes the club’s best hitter — but this feels like something of a missed opportunity."Jake Mintz, Yahoo Sports
It's pretty hard to disagree with this take, and although I would likely give the team a slightly higher grade myself, maybe a "C" at most, it appears as if the grades they gave out were generally pretty tough to most clubs. Looking through the article you will find that the only club that received an "A+" grade was the Los Angeles Dodgers, which, I mean come on, is utterly obvious. The division rival New York Mets earned an "A-" grade for their efforts, but this article was published before they re-signed Pete Alonso last night. At this point, the Mets might be challenging the Dodgers for being the only team to earn that high of a grade.
All in all, it was refreshing to read an accurate analysis of the Nationals' offseason that has definitely made the team better, but was still lacking that big move to really supplement the young talent that is currently in the big leagues. With a lot of their high-end prospect talent like James Wood, Dylan Crews, and others either already in the majors or knocking on the door, one big-time veteran signing really could have raised the overall ceiling of this team, and it appears as if other writers who cover the sport agree with that as well.
What would you grade the Nationals' offseason? As always, please let me know on X, @DCBerk.