Who Will Round Out Washington Nationals Starting Rotation on Opening Day?
One of the goals that the Washington Nationals had during the past offseason was to upgrade their pitching staff.
Bringing in some veterans who complement the young players already in place would not only help their development, but raise the floor of the team as well. The more of the seasoned veterans in place, the better the team should perform.
Despite not going to the top of the market and landing one of the front end starters who were available in free agency, the Nationals accomplished their goal of bringing in some established options to help the team.
Trevor Williams was re-signed to a two-year, $14 million deal. Michael Soroka agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal and is now the highest paid active pitcher on the roster. Shinnosuke Ogaswara signed a two-year, $3.5 million deal as an international import.
That is a lot of depth added to a roster that already had MacKenzie Gore, Jake Irvin, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker in the mix.
Not to mention the rehabbing Josiah Gray, former top prospect Cade Cavalli and Jackson Rutledge also being potential options.
With only a few weeks until the regular season begins, the competition for a spot in the starting lineup is the biggest undecided positional battle that is going down at camp in the opinion of Jessica Camerato of MLB.com.
As things currently stand, Gore, Irvin, Williams and Soroka looked locked into spots. When the latter two signed with the team, both said they were told they would be deployed as starting pitchers out of the gate despite having relief experience.
That likely leaves one spot open for the trio of Herz, Parker and Ogaswara, who have one thing working against them when it comes to pushing one of the veterans in camp.
“Each of them have Minor League options, which could factor into the final Opening Day decision,” wrote Camerato.
That could certainly play a role in the decision the franchise makes with the starting rotation out of the gate. An emphasis could be put on their development, which is easier to accomplish in Triple-A than at the Major League level.
Starting in the minor leagues seems like a more likely outcome than being shifted to the bullpen, but everything is likely still on the table at this point.
Their appearances the rest of the exhibition season in Grapefruit League games will be worth keeping a close eye on. The statistics don’t count, but how they perform could be the difference in starting the season with the Major League club or not.
Some projections have Parker making the cut as the fifth starter, but this competition is far from over.
