Washington Nationals' Rebuild is Progressing
PLUS: NEW PAPERBACK PROVIDES PLENTY OF LAUGHS TO WARM THE HEARTH
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Reader Reacts
“Aside from Marcell Ozuna not getting the DH silver slugger over Bryce Harper, I was surprised to learn that just three guys last season appeared in 110 or more games as a DH: Ozuna, Ohtani and Joey Meneses of the Nats (surely the only time Meneses will appear in that kind of company).”
— Andrew Sharp, Washington
Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
For the first time, both MVPs were unanimous selections, with Ronald Acuña, Jr. (NL) and Shohei Ohtani (AL) collecting all 30 votes from voting writers . . .
Foreign affairs: 28.5 per cent of major-leaguers on Opening Day 26-man rosters plus injured, inactive and restricted lists in 2023 were born outside the United States . . .
Ex-Cubs pilot David Ross missed the boat in rejecting an offer to serve as bench coach for the Yankees under manager Aaron Boone, who’s walking on eggshells . . .
Steve Garvey, called “the Senator” as a player because of his affable personality, is actually running for Senator, hoping at age 74 to succeed the late Diane Feinstein in California . . .
Over their past 240 games, the Yankees are a .500 team: 120-120 . . .
Yankees GM Brian Cashman is banking on comebacks by pitchers Carlos Rodon and Nestor Cortes, who combined for a 5.92 ERA in 2023 after crafting a 2.68 ERA the year before . . .
NL MVP Ronald Acuna, Jr. joins Lou Gehrig (1927), Chuck Klein (‘30) and Joe DiMaggio (‘37) as the only players to hit at least .335 with 40 home runs, 215 hits, 80 extra-base hits, 100 RBIs, 145 runs scored and a 1.000 OPS with fewer than 90 strikeouts . . .
Deliberately or not, the Braves do not have a Scott Boras client on their roster.
Leading Off
Where the Nationals stand on their rebuild
By Andrew C. Sharp
After the elation of winning the 2019 World Series, it’s been a rough ride for the Washington Nationals and their fans. First, Covid-19 prevented fans from celebrating at Nationals Park during the curtailed 2020 season. Since then, no World Series winner in history has fallen so fast and so far.
Even though the 2020 Nats finished tied with the Mets at the bottom of the N.L. East at 26-34, Juan Soto and Trea Turner solidified their status as major stars with steller performances.
The next season, however, made it clear that Washington could not remain a winner by relying on aging veterans and without rebuilding its farm system. Although the team was hovering near .500 as the 2021 trade deadline approached, team president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo decided to pull the plug on the season. In quick order, he jettisoned eight key players, including four from the World Series roster -- the big names being Max Scherzer and (shockingly to many fans) Turner.
Scherzer was headed for free agency, so his trade was anticipated. Turner had another full season left before he became a free agent, but with the Lerner family, the team owners, weighing a sale, Rizzo presumably assumed that the Nats would be outbid for the shortstop’s services.
News reports later confirmed that the Dodgers insisted on getting Turner with Scherzer if they were to give up two of their top prospects, catcher Keibert Ruiz and right-hander Josiah Gray, both of whom already have shown they are central to the Nats’ future.
After setting a Nationals’ record for home runs that July, Kyle Schwarber was traded to the Red Sox for a minor league pitcher whose career was over at the end of 2021. Nobody will ever know if the slugger would have re-signed with the Nats. If anything, Schwarber’s continued power surge and ability to get on base, despite his anemic batting average, would have generated fan interest. So that deal was a misfire.
Contrast that, however, with what Rizzo got from the Cardinals for the soon-to-retire Jon Lester: This past season, right-fielder Lane Thomas led the Nationals in homers with 28, tied for the lead in doubles with 36 and drove in 86 runs. He also finished second in the N.L. in outfield assists and was a finalist for a Gold Glove.
For inconsistent closer Brad Hand, Rizzo obtained from Toronto catcher Riley Adams, who was proving to be a solid backup with decent pop this season before he was injured in early September. It’s doubtful that Hand would have been much use to the Nats beyond 2021.
For catcher Yan Gomes and utility man Josh Harrison, Rizzo got three minor leaguers, including Drew Millas, another catching prospect who did well late this season after Adams was hurt. For Daniel Hudson, the Nats’ late-season closer on the 2019 team, Washington got righty reliever Mason Thompson, who’s shown flashes of talent with the Nats, and Jordy Barley, a speedy middle infielder now at AAA Rochester. Those deals seem like positives, although they doomed the 2021 Nationals to a last-place finish.
Things got far worse in 2022 before the blockbuster trade of Juan Soto to the Padres. The Nats were headed nowhere but the basement when Soto turned down a lucrative multi-year offer from Washington. Rizzo became convinced that he had to trade the superstar outfielder immediately for the best deal he could make – and take the heat from the fan base.
Soto, sent to San Diego with Josh Bell, probably could not have helped Washington avoid its worst season since moving from Montreal in 2005: an MLB-worst 55-107. Both players actually tailed off after the trade. Still, Soto’s second-half stats from 2023 show he remains an elite hitter.
Rizzo, however, seems to have gotten what he sought. Shortstop CJ Abrams, who just turned 23, set a Nationals record with 47 stolen bases last season. His 18 home runs displayed his developing power. Despite learning-curve errors, he is widely expected to become an outstanding fielder. Lefty starter Mackenzie Gore, if he can avoid injuries, has electric stuff and all-star potential. He will be a key part of the Nationals’ rotation again in 2024.
Of course, there’s more. Outfielder Robert Hassell III did well in the Arizona Fall League this year after being slowed during the regular season by injuries. Fellow outfielder James Wood had a breakout year as he moved up rapidly through the minors. Both could be in Washington as early as next season. And the Nats remain high on right-hander Jarlin Susana, just 19. All were included in Rizzo’s haul for Soto and Bell.
So the Nationals now have in the majors two young starting pitchers, their starting catcher and starting shortstop, all with bright futures, for trading an aging Hall of Fame pitcher and two guys with a chance to end up in Cooperstown. The chances weren’t as good, however, that any of those three would be with the Nationals next season or beyond.
Sure, holes are still unfilled. The Nats clearly need another power bat in the lineup. Other questions remain, starting with third base. Yet Washington finished 71-91 this season – a 16-game improvement over 2022, despite a poor September. The minor league system has been re-stocked with true prospects, led by outfielder Dylan Crews, the no.2 pick in this year’s draft, infielder Brady House, Wood and Hassell. Nationals’ fans now have reason to be hopeful that the climb back to competitiveness is on the horizon.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired daily newspaper journalist and a SABR member who has written and edited for the Bio and Games projects. He charted minor league games for 12 years for Baseball Info Solutions and blogs about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistoom
Cleanip
These Minor-League Shenanigans Made Me Laugh Out Loud
By Dan Schlossberg
Proving that the best baseball stories are too often buried in the minors, Tim Hagerty is out with a terrific paperback called Tales from the Dugout: 1,0001 Humorons, Inspirational & Wild Anecdotes from Minor League Baseball.
Hagerty, who broadcasts games for the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas, has written for Baseball Digest, MLB.com, Sporting News, The Hardball Times, and others. But this is his best work — maybe because of the clever illustrations and easy-to-read sidebar format.
Read it backwards and it still shoots on all cylinders.
Among other things, he tells us:
The 1940 Milwaukee Brewers varied the height of their outfield fences depending upon their opponents
The real Crash Davis played in 140 games for the Philadelphia Athletics and actually played for the Durham Bulls in 1948
A speck on the map named Maud, Oklahoma had a minor-league franchise for one day in 1929 but drew so poorly that the transfer was cancelled
After allowing 15 runs in a 1988 game, Phoenix pitcher Ed Lynch retired on the spot
Several players switched hotels because the believed the Radisson Lackawanna Station Hotel in Scranton was haunted.
As an animal-lover, I laughed out loud at the raccoon delay, the pig mascot, and others.
The 368-page $16.95 paperback was published by Cider Mill Press of Nashville. Long-time minor-league Billy Butler wrote the foreword.
Here’s The Pitch weekend editor Dan Schlossberg of Fair Lawn, NJ covers baseball for forbes.com, USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Memories & Dreams, and many other outlets. E.mail him via ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia
The late Padres owner Peter Seidler, who died at 63 earlier this week, was the grandson of Walter O’Malley, who owned the Dodgers from 1950-79 and moved them from Brooklyn to Los Angeles . . .
The Oakland Apathetics led the majors in losses (112) and lowest payroll ($79,873,656) but actually improved their attendance, jumping from 787,902 to 832,352 . . .
The A’s will be lame ducks — presumably in the Bay Area — until their new Las Vegas ballpark is ready in 2028 . . .
The Baseball Winter Meetings won’t be the same without the giant baseball trade show staged by Minor League Baseball . . .
Better late than never, Rob Manfred is questioning his own decision to strip Atlanta of the 2021 All-Star Game.
Know Your Editors
HERE’S THE PITCH is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles Monday and Tuesday editions, Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] does Wednesday and Thursday, and Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com] edits the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HTP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.