Washington Nationals' Timeline to Contend, Young Free-Agent Ace Align
The Washington Nationals are heading into free agency with the hope of improving a team that has been in a rebuild since the franchise won the 2019 World Series.
After years of losing, it feels like the Nationals are getting ready to bust out of their rebuild and compete once again.
Despite winning just 71 games in 2024, there is reason to believe that with the continued development of their young core, combined with the addition of some veterans in free agency, Washington could push toward at least the .500 mark next season.
The timeline of when the Nationals will truly be ready to compete is still a bit blurry. As of now, they are still bringing up some of their top prospects, as Dylan Crews just got a cup of coffee in the Majors, and Brady House might be making his debut to start 2025.
When it comes to pursuing free agents, when this team will be ready to win should factor into which free agents they are willing to pursue.
Thomas Harrigan of MLB.com recently wrote about pitcher Roki Sasaki as a player who would be an intriguing player for Washington to pursue because the 23-year-old's development would align nicely with that of Crews, House, CJ Abrams, James Wood and Luis García Jr. All are under the age of 24.
Adding Sasaki to a rotation that already includes young pitchers like MacKenzie Gore, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker could make it a much stronger staff in the future.
“The flamethrowing righty has the potential to be the bona fide ace the team is missing," he wrote.
Due to the talented young pitcher being just 23 years old, he would fit in well with the young core of Washington. While it would likely be unlikely that he would go to the Nationals with most of the bigger market teams and contenders being interested in his services, he would be an excellent fit.
Because MLB considers him to be an international free agent because he is under 25 years old, the posting process caps the amount he can make, which means the Nationals could be more competitive for him.
Since it still might be a few years before Washington can compete for a World Series assuming everything goes right, pursuing a 23-year-old pitcher compared to a 30-year-old pitcher makes a lot of sense.
Even though it might be unlikely, the Nationals should certainly check in and see if they can sell Sasaki on the potential of the franchise with him long-term.
