The Washington Nationals had an eventful season in 2022.
The most surprising part was that they traded away star outfielder Juan Soto to the San Diego Padres.
Soto is the type of young player that any good team wants to build around, but instead of having to pay him, the Nationals moved him.
Now they are stuck in a full-on rebuild heading into 2023.
The Nationals team that won the World Series in 2019 is gone and they are looking to rebuild a new core over the next few seasons.
Here are two moves the Nationals should make this offseason.
1. Develop Their Youth
The most important thing for the Nationals in this rebuilding season is to see continued improvement in their young players.
Some of their top young players have bright futures if they can continue to develop during these rebuilding years.
The names to watch for are CJ Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, and Josiah Gray.
Abrams and Gore were acquired in the Soto trade, while Gray has yet to reach his full potential.
If the Nationals want to become championship contenders again, their core of young players will have to reach their full potential.
2. Find Any And All Pitching
The Nationals had one of the worst starting rotations in all of baseball this past season.
As a staff, they had the second-worst ERA in baseball at 5.00.
Other than Gray, none of their starters are expected to be in Washington long-term.
#Nationals‘ 2022-23 Offseason: Focus on starting pitching + a big bat… or two…
“We understand that starting pitching has to be better than it is right now.” –Mike Rizzo
“If we don’t have starting pitching it will be tough.” – Davey Martinez: https://t.co/uI3eNaUsGp
— federalbaseball (@federalbaseball) November 14, 2022
So, the Nationals should be on the lookout for some pitchers with years left on their contract via trade.
Anyone that they might be able to use now and flip for other pieces, later on, could be crucial for their rebuild.
Washington is going to have a few tough years ahead, but all it takes is a few key moves to turn a team around.
