Concerns for the 2017 Washington Nationals season
The 2017 Major League Baseball season is in full swing, and I could not be more excited about it. The Nationals walked into the season as reigning NL East Division champions and are the favorites to win the division title again. Getting back to the playoffs is not going to be easy; the Mets will be a much tougher opponent this year. Here are a few of the big concerns for me.
Jayson Werth is a big concern for me; he’s 37 and will turn 38 this season. He had a good second half in 2016, but in my mind he is over the hill. When Werth first came into the team he was overpaid to show the rest of the league that the Nats wanted to be a contender. In his time frame with the club he has seen the team go from terrible to a team that has had a winning season four straight years and has two divisional titles. Werth has had an incredible impact for the Nats both on and off the field, and his home run in game four vs the Cardinals is one of the most memorable moments in franchise history. That being said, he is going to be a bottom of the lineup guy and if he hits higher than .250 that’s good for him. If the Nats have the right outfielder down on the farm, he probably needs to be ready to come up when (not if) Werth’s bat goes cold. Werth is a great leader in the clubhouse, but for me is one of the weak links in the lineup.
Another big concern for the Nats last season was the back end of the bullpen. They traded mid-season for Mark Melancon who did fine, but his contract ended and he now is a member of the San Francisco Giants. There were big rumors that the Nats wanted the White Sox closer, David Robertson, when they acquired Adam Eaton, however that never ended up happening. The team didn’t go out and grab anyone else to be a closer and will settle with Blake Treinen. Treinen is a good relief pitcher, but there are major questions if he is good enough to be the closer of a team that wants to win a World Series. There is hope that Koda Glover, a 23 year old prospect, could be the closer by season end. The Nats could also go out and grab a closer prior to the trade deadline. If that is the way the Nats want to go, they need to go out and grab the first closer; they can not wait until the deadline where anywhere from five to eight teams could be looking for a closer. They don’t want to be in a bidding war.
Bryce Harper had a very good season in 2016 for a 23 year old. That being said, it wasn’t his best. If the Nats want to win a World Series, Bryce Harper needs to be the NL MVP. If Bryce Harper wants to get that half a Billion (with a B) contract, he needs to win MVP at least once in the last two remaining seasons on his contract. If Bryce were to get injured, the Nats will still win games, but they are not a World Series contender. Bryce may leave for the Yankees after the 2018 season, but that move still needs to be earned. He’s been arguably one of the most hyped up athletes of all time. He won’t officially reach that potential until he wins a World Series and wins several more MVP awards. Bryce’s career with the Nats has had several ups and downs; he will go out and have a great few months at the beginning of the season and then get hurt. Bryce needs to be the guy for the Nats. In some cases injuries are unavoidable, but Bryce has also hurt himself in other situations. Bryce has game changing talent. He has the ability to be the best player on the roster. He needs to get back to be the player that he was in 2015. He needs it and the Nats need it. If Bryce Harper regresses, the Nats will really struggle to win a division title and to win a World Series.
The starting rotation for the Nats is very good; Scherzer, Strasburg, and Roark are all studs. Gio Gonzalez in my mind is no longer a top notch pitcher. He’s average and at best is good for 6 innings. His best days are past him. Joe Ross is still a work in progress, but had a decent stretch last season and is only 23. Scherzer is recovering from an injury and didn’t get a full spring training; he is however coming off of a Cy Young winning year. Strasburg had an incredible first half of the season and then picked up an injury and was average for the second half of the year. Roark was arguably the most consistent Nationals pitcher last year. Not flashy, but consistent. This is not the best Nationals pitching rotation, it’s also far from the worst. The biggest concern is just the health and recovery of Scherzer & Strasburg. Strasburg is always an injury concern. Scherzer’s lack of spring training is definitely a concern. AJ Cole and Ross are decent back end of the rotation guys and have the capability to win games for this team. Best case scenario — this rotation ends up being the best in baseball. Worst case scenario — Strasburg & Scherzer get hurt, Ross and Cole struggle, Roark regresses and Gonzalez can’t go more than 5 innings. In my mind the Nats are pushing the chips to the middle of the table with this rotation. They are taking a big risk, but it has a good chance of paying off
The Nats are expected to be a World Series contender. The bar is high and the worst case scenario would still probably end up above 500. The biggest concern for me is that the window to win a title is closing. Harper could very well leave, Jayson Werth is in his late 30’s, Ryan Zimmerman has struggled with consistency at the plate and with staying healthy. The pitching rotation could be great or could be average. Realistically they only have two seasons with a star like Harper. Several older veterans are quickly moving towards retirement. They have a Hall of Fame manager in Dusty Baker who is still lacking that World Series Ring. They have to win. Now.
