Washington Nationals See Increase in Stock Heading Into Free Agency
The Washington Nationals finished the 2024 season with a 71-91 record, placing them fourth in the National League East division, which could be considered the best division in the sport.
While they played well below .500 ball throughout the campaign, the final record does not tell the whole story of the team's year.
Against divisional opponents, the Nationals played to a 25-27 record, including going 8-5 against the Atlanta Braves, one of the three representatives of the division in the MLB playoffs.
It was a year of development for Washington, with James Cook and Dylan Crews making their Major League debuts, two of their top prospects, and shortstop CJ Abrams making himself a household name (and reminding us that the house always wins).
The development of their young stars has seen an increase in the team's stock entering free agency, with Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report ranking the team 25th in the latest power rankings.
"The Nationals were one of the most improved teams in baseball," writes Reuter, "even if they were a distant fourth in the NL East standings."
While the team's offense saw improvements and further development, pitching was an issue for the club and could be so moving forward if they are not active in free agency this winter, though Reuter has a solution.
"Finding a workhorse veteran to anchor the starting rotation could go a long way in shoring up the pitching staff."
Incumbent veteran Patrick Corbin is entering that same free agency, but Washington should let him move on to greener pastures and look to more consistent options like Nathan Eovaldi or Jack Flaherty.
Adding one, or both, of those guys to the club would go a long way to improving a pitching staff that ranked 23rd in Major League Baseball with a 4.40 starting rotation ERA, as both Eovaldi and Flaherty held better ERAs with Eovaldi pitching to a 3.80 mark and Flaherty to a 3.17.
Both pitchers have spent an ample amount of time in the Majors and could serve as leaders on what is otherwise a very young roster that could very well be on the brink of success.
Pitching was a big part of what brought the Nationals their first-ever World Series Championship in 2019, and it could do the same thing yet again.
It will not come in 2025, but the club could find itself back in contention as early as 2027.
