The Washington Nationals were one of the biggest disappointments of the 2015 season. They started off as preseason World Series favorites, yet ended up missing the playoffs entirely. Manager Matt Williams got his walking papers shortly thereafter. There were some high points in the season. Bryce Harper won the NL MVP and Max Scherzer threw two no-hitters. But that is where the praise ended. However, the Nats have put their treacherous season behind them and are looking ahead. They are hoping that without the pressure of last season, they can make this year a story of redemption in our nation’s capital.
It all starts with Harper. The 23 year old was able to stay healthy for a full season for the first time, and the results were otherworldly. He finished in the top five of every Triple Crown category and took home that aforementioned Most Valuable Player trophy. His presence on the field was larger than life in 2015. But being able to do that again is key, as his lineup around him has the same fragile reputation he had before last year’s break out. Look no further than the corners of their infield for exhibits A and B.
Ryan Zimmerman, now the everyday first baseman, and Anthony Rendon, now the everyday third baseman, are both making complete position changes after injury-plagued 2015’s. Zimmerman, the first real face of the Nationals franchise, has been in positional limbo the past two seasons. After third base became too rigorous for him, he was trotted out in the outfield and then at first. While those shifts have been shocks to his system, his inability to stay on the field has been just as detrimental to his career. He posted career worsts last year in batting average (.249) and OBP (.308) while playing under 100 games for a second straight year.
Rendon was just as big a letdown. A year after finishing fifth in the MVP balloting, the 25 year old batted just .264 and played less than half of the Nationals’ games. The power that he had flashed the year before was all but gone as well. But if all accounts this spring are to be believed, both men are 100% entering 2016. Pairing them up with Mets playoff hero Daniel Murphy, top hitting prospect Trea Turner, and a returning Wilson Ramos could give them one of the most formidable infields in the National League. The outfield has some rehabilitation to do themselves.
Outside of Harper, the Nationals’ outfield was a controlled mess to put it lightly. Jayson Werth played just 88 games and was relatively ineffective in those contests, hitting just .221 with 29 combined extra base hits. Michael Taylor played all over the place as the injury bug continued to hit each successive replacement outfielder. He showed promise, but struck out 158 times and got on base at just a .282 clip. Taylor will again be a fourth outfielder in 2016, but with Ben Revere now manning center field, the Nationals will hope that Taylor becomes an asset off the bench rather than forcing him back into the lineup again. If they can do that, the blend of speed and power coming from that unit will be tremendous.
The pitching staff still looks untouchable on paper, even with Jordan Zimmermann now in Detroit. The 2015 Nationals were good (7th best team ERA in the MLB) but they were far from untouchable. Of the returning starters, only spot starter Tanner Roark posted an ERA above 4.00. However, the better numbers from his compatriots Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Joe Ross, and Gio Gonzalez were made by pairing up amazing starts with subsequently crummy ones. Consistency will be key if Washington is to reverse their fortunes. That goes double for the bullpen.
There are many wild cards in front of closer Jonathan Papelbon, who will take over autonomously after Drew Storen was traded to Toronto. Aaron Barrett and Blake Treinen are going to have a lot asked of them in the late innings. Sprinkling in the likes of Oliver Perez and Shawn Kelley doesn’t exactly fulfill the requirements for reinforcements they were originally looking for either. Papelbon hasn’t been the same since leaving Boston, but he has postseason experience, something that the Nationals roster is quite short on. If they can be playing baseball in October, that experience will have a trickle down effect on Washington’s arms.
While there were many changes internally and externally to the structure of the club itself, the change of managers for the Nationals may be the biggest one. After originally seeming to be settled on Bud Black, they pulled an eleventh hour 180 and chose Dusty Baker as their replacement for the discarded Matt Williams. While Baker sneaked under the radar in getting the job, he comes with a much better resume than Black. He took the Giants, Cubs, and Reds to the playoffs a combined seven times, including the 2002 World Series with San Francisco. The Nationals are hoping that his fourth gig is the one that finally produces that elusive World Series ring.
Now I got a little bit ahead of myself there at the end. While the World Series is the goal for every team in Major League Baseball, it isn’t World Series or bust for the 2016 Nationals. The playoffs are a nice start. Possibly giving the Mets a taste of their own medicine in the division would be icing on the cake. Not all redemption stories go from supreme failure to ultimate triumph. Little victories can be just as redeeming, as long as they eventually lead to said triumph.