The Washington Nationals are one of two teams who are attempting to reestablish goodwill after A.) winning a World Series and then B.) finishing in last. The Red Sox are the other ones, who knows what they'll end up with, but...the Nats are a very interesting case.
Speaking broadly, the elements that made them a World Series team are still sort of there- Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin and Ryan Zimmerman are all a part of the effort this year, and they all seem to be in good shape. Heck, Zim has 3 homers already! Look at him go! The only 2019 battery member that worries me is Stephen Strasburg, who may be up for another injury-addled year after they just re-upped him [man, the Yanks dodged a bullet there, didn't we?].
But, the specific approach that made the Nats a World Series team is using cheap veterans and older players to all pool together their collective momentum and underdog their way to the top. And it says a lot about that strategy's extended potency when you remember that Brian Dozier and Howie Kendrick just retired, Kurt Suzuki and Asdrubal Cabrera are trying to make teams in the west, and the similar veterans they've roped in, like Eric Thames, Starlin Castro and Brock Holt, haven't worked as well.
The good news is that the Nats did filter in some potential franchise pieces this year, and by that I mean pieces of other franchises- Jon Lester and Kyle Schwarber won a WS with the Cubs, and while both have struggled in recent years, they're both excited to be here. Schwarber could turn around his perception as a one-dimensional power hitter...or he could continue to hit .200. His choice.
The biggest piece they added was Josh Bell, the former Pirates All Star 1st baseman, as a huge lineup piece and a potential marquee guy for the future run. It does owe itself to whether or not Bell will produce 2019-caliber numbers, or if he'll do what he did last year and barely hit for average. But the decision to base the team around power hitters as well as contact heroes like Soto and Turner is an interesting one, one that could dictate the next direction the Nats are taking.
I'm not sure if this strategy will work for the Nats, but I sincerely hope they do better than they did last year.
Coming Tonight: He was fighting for a starting role in New York, and he just might get one in Cleveland.
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