Washington Nationals 'Not Ready for Prime Time' As They Miss MLB Playoffs

The Washington Nationals have a promising, but young roster that just simply ready to make a postseason push yet.

Sep 3, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals right fielder Dylan Crews (3) celebrates a victory over the Miami Marlins with second baseman Luis García Jr. (2) and center fielder Jacob Young, right, at loanDepot Park. / Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals young core flashed a lot of potential this season, but just weren't ready for a playoff run yet.

As Bradford Doolittle of ESPN examined what went wrong for each MLB team that missed the postseason, the Nationals were declared as 'not ready for prime time' right now.

"Washington's rebuild hasn't taken hold just yet, but you can see the plan taking root. And this thing might be ready to take off," said Doolittle. "The Nationals will have long-term solutions in place at each position up the middle and both corner outfield slots, just for starters. And while we shouldn't expect the Nationals to go wild in free agency, they probably could if ownership signed off on it."

As the writer pointed out later, Washington will have plenty of money to work with in the winter thanks to the massive contract of Patrick Corbin finally coming off the books.

While the biggest target will likely be a reunion with Juan Soto, offering him a blank check to come back to the team and bring the rebuild full circle, that is incredibly unlikely to happen.

Instead, they should be a bit more flexible with their money to fill a couple of spots on the diamond that they aren't completely set at.

Another starting pitcher will likely be one of the biggest goals, as they have a couple of promising arms but are lacking a true ace as of now.

DJ Herz debuted this year and looked much better than anyone expected. He should absolutely have a spot in the rotation next season.

Mitchell Parker and Jake Irvin also established themselves as starters this season, but that was more planned.

Each of the young arms had an ERA north of 4.00 on the year, though, and would likely benefit from bringing in a more reliable veteran that Corbin has been in recent years.

The other biggest need will be bringing in some power to compliment the speed and contact ability of the younger bats in the lineup.

Only the Chicago White Sox hit less home runs than the Nationals this season, which is obviously not acceptable.

Washington only got 28 combined home runs from the first base and designated hitter slots in the lineup.

The core of the lineup should continue to improve and become 'more ready for prime time,' it's just up to the decision makers to surround them with complimentary players.