New Buzzword of Washington Nationals Skipper Shows Current Rebuilding Stage
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In the grand scheme of the NL East landscape, it's clear the Washington Nationals are far behind.
Not only did three teams from the division make the playoffs this year, but the Philadelphia Phillies seem to have an open championship window, the Atlanta Braves could return to dominance when they get healthy in 2025, and the New York Mets are putting together a magical run a year before they are going to be heavy spenders in free agency.
Meanwhile, the Nationals finished 20 games under .500 for the second season in a row.
Rebuilding is different for every franchise that undergoes that process, sometimes working out in rapid fashion while other times it takes patience to see a breakthrough.
Washington is hoping their situation is the former option instead of the latter, but after missing the playoffs for the fifth straight year, they are inching towards the long-term designation.
So where do the Nationals currently stand in their own process?
That would be summed up by manager Dave Martinez's new buzzword following the season where he summarized the campaign as "experience."
"Oh, gosh, I haven't really thought about a word. I mean, last year was all about progress. You know what? I would have to say experience, really. The experience that these guys got to play up here. That is definitely going to help down the road," he said per Bobby Blanco of MASN.
When looking at Washington's roster throughout the better part of the year, it's easy to see why he would apply that word to what took place.
The Nationals embraced a youth movement, trading away their veteran pieces to give their young players and star prospects more playing time.
Like Martinez said, that experience is what the organization is hoping will speed up this rebuilding process, giving them an idea of who their surefire franchise cornerstones are, while also highlighting what areas they need to upgrade via free agency or trade.
The statement from the skipper also suggests he believes there is plenty of time left in the rebuild.
Washington is just scratching the surface with James Wood and Dylan Crews only joining their other young stars like CJ Abrams and Luis Garcia Jr. in the second half of the year, so unless the front office and ownership group are ready to spend money, then more experience will be needed for this young group before they can be expected to win at a high level again.
Brad Wakai graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Journalism. While an undergrad, he worked at the student radio station covering different Penn State athletic programs like football, basketball, volleyball, soccer and other sports. Brad became the Lead Contributor for Nittany Lions Wire of Gannett Media where he continued to cover Penn State athletics. Currently, Brad is the Publisher for Washington Nationals On SI and covers multiple teams across the On SI network. He is the host of the sports podcast I Said What I Said, where he and his co-host discuss topics across the NFL, College Football, the NBA and other sports. You can follow him on Twitter: @bwakai