Washington Nationals Urged To Make Trade in This Critical Area

The Washington Nationals are being urged to make a trade in this one critical area.

May 7, 2022; Anaheim, California, USA; A detailed view of a Washington Nationals cap and glove with sunglasses in the dugout before a game against the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are a team to keep a very close eye on throughout the upcoming MLB offseason.

During the course of the 2024 season, they have shown flashes of major development.

Due to the flashes they have shown, the Nationals are considered a team that could become a sleeper contender in 2025 if they can put together a strong offseason.

Washington has been rumored heavily as a potential suitor for superstar slugger Juan Soto this offseason in free agency.

They have the money to spend and Soto loved his first tenure with the Nationals. Reuniting would fix the mistake that the Nationals made by not extending him in the first place.

Obviously, bringing in Soto would speed up the process for the Nationals to get back to being a playoff team. However, even without him, they can make some quality free agency moves or trade additions.

Bleacher Report recently took a look at one trade for each that they wish they could make.

When it came to Washington, they stated that a trade for a "nearly-ready pitching prospect" would be that move.

"After several years of rebuilding, Washington's offense is getting there, following the midseason arrivals of top prospects James Wood and Dylan Crews. The Nationals may well be better than average in the runs scored department in 2025. Their starting rotation remains a major problem, though, and one with no apparent cavalry coming from down on the farm in the next year or two. Adding a Triple-A pitcher with even a little bit of promise would be nice."

Being able to make that happen will be the difficult part of the job. There is a chance that the Nationals could simply look at the free agency market to beef up their rotation.

Should they choose to go the free agency route, they could spend big on an elite veteran arm. Or, they could go for a middle-tier pitcher like Jack Flaherty to improve the rotation and still be a viable long-term option.

There are many different directions the Nationals could choose to go with their offseason. They also need to add help for the lineup. A bat like Anthony Santander or Teoscar Hernandez would bring a much-needed boost if they can't get the big fish in Soto.

All of that being said, it seems likely that Washington will consider getting aggressive this offseason. They need a few different things, but they have handled their money wisely to the point that they could make a couple of splashes should they choose to do so.