Analyzing the BIggest 'What-If' for Washington Nationals This Season
The Washington Nationals have almost finished up the 2024 season, as the franchise has started to think about next year.
It has been a good campaign for the Nationals in terms of developing their young players and taking a step forward in the rebuild process. Washington has an excellent young core of talent that has started to make an impact in the big leagues.
In their outfield, the Nationals have a very talented young group with James Wood, Dylan Crews, and Jacob Young. Of the three, Wood and Crews are two very highly regarded prospects.
The rebuild has taken some time for Washington, but it finally appears that they could have their big breakthrough next season. Recently, Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report spoke about the biggest ‘What-If’ for Washington this season.
He highlighted the performance of Victor Robles with the Seattle Mariners this campaign compared to recent years with the Nationals.
“Following a 4.4-WAR rookie season in 2019 while helping the Nats win a World Series title, his career stalled and he tallied just 1.4 WAR in 341 games over the next five seasons before he was designated for assignment and eventually released on June 1. Three days later, the Seattle Mariners plucked him from the scrapheap, and he has emerged as a diamond in the rough with a change of scenery.”
Robles looked like he was going to be an excellent player for Washington for years to come, as he and Juan Soto emerged in the Majors right around the same time. However, after a great rookie year, Robles regressed quite a bit.
Since he really wasn’t a factor for Washington anymore, the franchise deciding to part ways with him in order to get playing time for their younger players made a lot of sense. However, whether it was the change of scenery or something else, Robles has found that 2019 form with the Mariners.
In Seattle, the outfielder has totaled a .336 batting average, 17 doubles, and 28 stolen bases. It is certainly some of the best baseball that he has played in years, but it unfortunately isn’t with the Nationals.
If the slugger was able to perform like he is for the Mariners with Washington, the Nationals likely would have had some more wins. However, it might have blocked playing time for some of the young outfielder prospects of the organization.
While it might just be an outlier, it has been an excellent half a season for Robles since leaving Washington, and it is definitely fair to wonder what the team would have looked like this year if he produced like he is now.
NICK ZIEGLER