Washington Nationals Not Expected to Bring Back Veteran Right-Hander
It was an interesting season for the Washington Nationals in 2024, despite only winning 71 games, there were a lot of positives to take away from the season.
Last campaign, the Nationals featured a lot of young prospects they had been developing and were starting to make an impact in the big leagues. For Washington, this offseason will be filled with tough decisions that could shape what 2025 looks like for the organization.
Assuming some of their young players take a little step forward and keep improving, there is reason to believe that with a couple of additions in free agency, the team might be getting close to being able to compete.
However, whether the organization believes that timeline is realistic has yet to be seen. While the lineup is looking really bright, what the future holds for the pitching staff is a little bit more murky.
The Nationals will have both Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams hitting free agency this offseason, and while Corbin certainly won’t be back, Williams doesn’t appear like he will be either, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
“At this point, the Nationals appear to have enough younger options for their rotation to pass on bringing Williams back as a full-time starter. They would probably view him as a valuable swingman who could open as a long reliever but go back to the rotation if the need arose. But there may be other teams out there willing to consider Williams a full-time starter. And if one of them makes him a decent offer, it’s probably safe to assume he’d take that over a less-defined role in D.C.”
Williams was having an excellent season for the Nationals prior to getting hurt in 2024. Last year, the right-hander totaled a 6-1 record and 2.03 ERA. Unfortunately, he missed nearly four months of the season with an arm injury, prior to coming back at the end of the season for a couple of starts.
Considering Williams had an ERA over 5.00 in 2023, the Nationals will probably look to their young arms and maybe add a front-end of the rotation starter this winter.
Even though his time with Washington might be coming to an end, the strong 2024 campaign should result in the 32-year-old getting a rotation spot somewhere in the majors for 2025, as teams will certainly take a chance on him.
