New Buzzword of Washington Nationals Skipper Shows Current Rebuilding Stage
In the grand scheme of the NL East landscape, it's clear the Washington Nationals are far behind.
Not only did three teams from the division make the playoffs this year, but the Philadelphia Phillies seem to have an open championship window, the Atlanta Braves could return to dominance when they get healthy in 2025, and the New York Mets are putting together a magical run a year before they are going to be heavy spenders in free agency.
Meanwhile, the Nationals finished 20 games under .500 for the second season in a row.
Rebuilding is different for every franchise that undergoes that process, sometimes working out in rapid fashion while other times it takes patience to see a breakthrough.
Washington is hoping their situation is the former option instead of the latter, but after missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year, they are inching towards the long-term designation.
So where do the Nationals currently stand in their own process?
That would be summed up by manager Dave Martinez's new buzzword following the season where he summarized the campaign as "experience."
"Oh, gosh, I haven't really thought about a word. I mean, last year was all about progress. You know what? I would have to say experience, really. The experience that these guys got to play up here. That is definitely going to help down the road," he said per Bobby Blanco of MASN.
When looking at Washington's roster throughout the better part of the year, it's easy to see why he would apply that word to what took place.
The Nationals embraced a youth movement, trading away their veteran pieces to give their young players and star prospects more playing time.
Like Martinez said, that experience is what the organization is hoping will speed up this rebuilding process, giving them an idea of who their surefire franchise cornerstones are, while also highlighting what areas they need to upgrade via free agency or trade.
The statement from the skipper also suggests he believes there is plenty of time left in the rebuild.
Washington is just scratching the surface with James Wood and Dylan Crews only joining their other young stars like CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. in the second half of the year, so unless the front office and ownership group are ready to spend money, then more experience will be needed for this young group before they can be expected to win at a high level again.
