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.
The 2020 Nats finished tied with the Mets at the bottom of the N.L. East at 26-34, even as Juan Soto and Trea Turner established themselves as major stars with their steller performances.
The next season made it clear that Washington could not remain a winner by relying on its aging veterans and without rebuilding its farm system. Although the team was hovering near .500 as the 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.
Later, news reports 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 righty 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 leaguer pitcher whose career was over at the end of 2021. Nobody will ever know if the slugger would have re-signed with the Nats. By the way, has anybody heard about Schwarber since he left Washington? So Rizzo misfired there, at least for the rest of 2021.
Contrast that, however, with what he got from the Cardinals for the soon-to-retire Jon Lester: In 2023, 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 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 has 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 helped doom 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 going 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 and Josh Bell, sent with him to San Diego, 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 this season. His 18 home runs show his developing power. Despite learning-curve errors, he is 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 2024. And the Nats remain high on right-hander Jarlin Susana, just 19. All were included in Rizzo’s haul for Soto. (Free agent Bell likely would not have re-signed with Washington in any case.)
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 — Soto and Turner — with a chance to end up in Cooperstown. The chances weren’t so good, however, that any of those three would be with the Nationals next season or beyond.
Sure, holes are still unfilled. The Nats need another power bat in the lineup. Questions remain, starting with third base. Yet Washington finished 71-91 in 2023 – a 16-game improvement over 2022, despite a poor September. With the minor league re-stocked with true prospects, Nationals fans have reason to be hopeful that the climb back to competitiveness is on the horizon.
This appeared in Here’s the Pitch, the online IBWAA daily newsletter, reposted on Substack, on November 17, 2023, under the headline “Washington Nationals rebuild is progressing.”
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