Washington Nationals Placed Shockingly Low in Recent MLB Power Rankings

The Washington Nationals are not very highly regarded heading into Spring Training.
Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jackson Rutledge (79) shakes hands with manager Dave Martinez (4) after getting pulled from the game against the Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Nationals Park.
Sep 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jackson Rutledge (79) shakes hands with manager Dave Martinez (4) after getting pulled from the game against the Philadelphia Phillies during the seventh inning at Nationals Park. / Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images
In this story:

The Washington Nationals were near the bottom of the MLB during the 2024 season with only 73 wins.

Only five teams were victorious fewer times than them; the Miami Marlins, Colorado Rockies, Athletics, Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox.

Despite that, they were one of the teams many people were keeping a close eye on coming into the offseason because there were whispers of them being ready to spend. An emerging young core ripe for the addition of veterans to help propel them to that next level.

Alas, the spending spree has not come.

The Nationals handed out only one multi-year contract this offseason to pitcher Trevor Williams, who re-signed with the club on a two-year, $14 million deal. Pitchers Mike Soroka and Jorge Lopez and first baseman/designated hitter Josh Bell all signed one-year deals.

First baseman Nathaniel Lowe, who was acquired from the Texas Rangers in a trade, is under club control for two more seasons.

However, not enough was done in the opinion of Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report to move them up the pecking order in the league.

With one month until Spring Training, the MLB expert still has Washington as one of the worst teams in baseball, placing them at No. 27 in his power rankings. Only the White Sox, Marlins and Rockies are behind them.

“The Nationals added some pop to the middle of their lineup by trading for Nathaniel Lowe and signing Josh Bell, and they will join James Wood, Dylan Crews, CJ Abrams and Luis García Jr. to form a solid offensive core. However, they will need to significantly exceed expectations on the pitching side to make any significant push toward contention after finishing 71-91 a year ago.”

Playing in a loaded National League East certainly doesn’t help their case as the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and New York Mets are all at tiers ahead of them currently. Based on moves made this winter, it is certainly fair to say they will once again be near the bottom of the league.

Unless, of course, the pitching staff makes strides.

There is some intriguing young talent on the mound, headlined by MacKenzie Gore, who sandwiched a very poor summer with ace-like potential out of the gate and down the stretch of the campaign.

Mitchell Parker and DJ Herz were both solid in unexpectedly busy rookie years and Jake Irvin remains a consistent producer as the No. 2. Williams and Soroka provide much-needed veteran experience for a rotation that could also receive help from Josiah Gray, Jackson Rutledge and Cade Cavalli.

Where they could still use some help is in the bullpen, where Lopez has the most late-game experience and could open the season as the closer. Bringing Kyle Finnegan back would ease some of those concerns and give the team a solid quartet to rely on with Derek Law and Jose A. Ferrer ready to handle prominent roles, too.


Published