Washington Nationals Not Spending a Fortune On Starters This Offseason is Wise
The Washington Nationals have been rather quiet so far this offseason, but that might not be the worst thing for the franchise long-term.
Coming into the winter, the Nationals were a team that had the potential to make some noise, and even though they've been dormant to this point, that could still change.
When looking at the needs of the team, they currently could use a power hitter, first baseman, third baseman, starting pitcher, and a closer. That is a long list of areas to fill for the Nationals, but with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball currently, they have the means to do it.
As the franchise has been rebuilding, Mike Rizzo has been wise not to spend on long-term contracts.
Since the team was going to lose a lot of games with their young players growing and developing, this was certainly the right choice, but with that core gaining more experience, the time to spend is coming soon.
While the lineup is filled with talented youngsters, the starting rotation could use some work.
There are some promising arms, led by MacKenzie Gore, but the team lacks a true ace with the left-hander still finding his way in Major League Baseball.
With a lot of talented arms on the market this offseason, the Nationals have yet to spend in that area, something that could be the right decision.
When looking at a pitcher like Corbin Burnes, while he would improve the team right now, by the time Washington is truly ready to contend, he will likely be on the downside of his career while making a ton of money.
The Nationals have been burned recently by handing out big contracts to starting pitchers, as both the Patrick Corbin signing and Stephen Strasburg extension didn’t work out well.
For this team that is coming off a 71-win season and still has some work to do to improve, avoiding long-term deals for starting pitchers makes a lot of sense, and it is likely the wise and patient thing to do.
The young core is still going to have their ups and downs over the next couple of years, and targeting starting pitching help that might be more of the 2–4-year variety makes a lot more sense than handing out 6-8-year deals to pitchers.
Keeping the flexibility to be able to spend when the team might just be a piece or two away from contending is certainly the way to go for Washington.
While the time might come to make a big splash on an ace, that time isn’t now.
