What Will Starting Rotation Look Like For Washington Nationals in 2025?
The Washington Nationals are heading into the winter after seeing a big improvement from 2023, as they won 16 more games in this campaign.
While a 71 win season is going to be considered a success by many, for a rebuilding team it is a step in the right direction.
A lot of attention has been placed on the position players for Washington, as they have some excellent young prospects in James Wood and Dylan Crews to name a few. With the position players coming up and making an impact, the Nationals will now hope that their young starting pitchers start to do the same.
Like their lineup, Washington featured a lot of young starters in 2024, as Jake Irvin, MacKenzie Gore, DJ Herz, and Mitchell Parker all saw a lot of time on the mound.
With all four being young, it seems like the Nationals will only have one hole to fill in the rotation, and it will be interesting to see how they approach it. Recently, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com broke down what the rotation might look like in 2025.
“The Nationals have a returning quartet of starters in right-hander Jake Irvin and left-handers MacKenzie Gore, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker. Veterans Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams are entering free agency, and right-handers Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray are recovering from Tommy John surgery. A return by Williams in 2025 isn't out of the question. He began the year strong, battled back from a lengthy injury and finished his ninth season with a 6-1 record and a 2.03 ERA in 13 starts. Williams also has experience pitching out of the bullpen, and he could have a dual role as a length arm as the season progresses.”
With four spots seemingly set, Washington should be looking to add one more arm. Since Patrick Corbin’s contract is coming off the books, they should be looking to reinvest that money into a few spots, and a front-end starter would be ideal.
Developing starting pitching is not an easy thing, and if the Nationals want to take a big step forward, they will need to add a pitcher who can be an ace for them while the young pitchers find their way and develop.
Fortunately, Washington is in good shape with four starters out of five seemingly set. Now, general manager Mike Rizzo will have to identify how much he wants to invest in the final guy.
