Washington Nationals Have Flexibility To Make Impact Additions in Free Agency
The Washington Nationals ended their 2024 season with a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies, 6-3. It meant that their win total this year was the same as last year booking 71 wins.
While it was certainly disappointing to not show improvement in the win column, there are a lot of reasons to be excited about the direction the team is heading in. The team is loaded with talented young players who received a chance to play after several veterans were moved on from throughout the year.
All-Star shortstop CJ Abrams and second baseman Luis Garcia Jr. are a strong duo up the middle. The outfield looks set for years to come with James Wood, Jacob Young and Dylan Crews in left, center and right field.
The starting rotation looks to have some real building blocks with MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irving, Mitchell Parker, DJ Herz, Josiah Gray and Jackson Rutledge. Jose A. Ferrer has emerged as a reliable arm out of the bullpen, joining veterans Kyle Finnegan and Derek Law.
This offseason, general manager Mike Rizzo is going to be in a position to augment the young core with established talent.
Needs on the roster are clear.
The Nationals need a home run threat in the middle of their order. They were second to last in home runs with 135, as the Chicago White Sox with 133 were the only team with fewer in 2024.
Bringing in some established pitchers to help the young guys, a role Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams filled, would make sense. You can never have enough relievers coming out of the bullpen, either.
After missing the postseason every year since winning the World Series in 2019, this offseason is an important one. While Washington isn’t in ‘win now’ mode, they are in a great position to upgrade the roster and challenge for a playoff spot in 2025.
Mike Rizzo is going to have a good amount of money to work with to add impact players to the mix. Corbin is $25 million coming off the books and Joey Gallo is another $5 million. Williams was making $7 million. $37 million in spending right there is a great start for the general manager to work with.
Luckily for him, there are some players who fit the mold of what the team is looking for.
Legitimate power threats such as Anthony Santander, Pete Alonso and Teoscar Hernandez are all free agents. Of course there is the crown jewel of this year’s free agent class, former Nationals outfielder, Juan Soto.
Given the strong foundation that has emerged, Rizzo can afford to toe the line. He can have some controlled aggressiveness on the market, going after players who fit a specific need, but not having to spend wildly.
When you build a team from the ground up and hit on prospects, as Washington seems to have, it makes the job of the general manager much easier. Rizzo needs to now build on the momentum created by this young core to bring the team back to prominence.
