Washington Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo Finds Positives in 2024 Season
The Washington Nationals 2024 campaign came to an end on Sunday afternoon in a 6-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
With a 71-91 record, the team finished with the same number of victories as they had last year. In some regard, this season could be seen as a failure, but general manager Mike Rizzo is opting to find the positives in what unfolded.
Progress in several areas has him excited about what the future holds for the franchise.
“Last year wasn’t the record I wanted. The year before wasn’t the record I wanted. And this year isn’t the record we wanted. Our goal is to win the division,” general manager Mike Rizzo said, via Mark Zuckerman of Masn. “But with the youth on this team, I see that with the comparable record of last year, the way we did it this year, with the starting pitching coming along like we saw in the breakout of the young kids, and the minor league prospects having a strong season in the minor leagues, I think is progress.”
Making up the youthful core of this lineup are shortstop CJ Abrams, second baseman Luis Garcia Jr., left fielder James Wood, center fielder Jacob Young and right fielder Dylan Crews. It is easy to get excited when all five of them are 24 years of age or younger.
On the mound, the Nationals look to have a young core to build around. MacKenzie Gore showed ace potential the first two months of the season and in September when he was one of the best pitchers in baseball.
His 2024 performance was the best by a Washington starting pitcher since 2019 when they won the World Series. That was also the last time they made the postseason.
Rookies DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker both had their moments during their first taste of the Major Leagues. The elder statesman of the core, Jake Irvin, had some ups and downs but took the mound every time it was his turn in the rotation with 33 starts.
With Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams both set to hit free agency, it will be interesting to see how Rizzo handles free agency. Adding an experienced arm to the mix would make a lot of sense, as acquiring a staff anchor would take the team to the next level.
There is good depth in the organization still with Josiah Gray and Jackson Rutledge both hopefully healthy during Spring Training.
71 wins may not seem like much, but this is a franchise trending in the right direction. With a few upgrades made during the winter, they will challenge for a playoff spot in 2025.
