Washington Nationals Can See Significant Improvement After Strong Offseason
With Spring Training right around the corner for the Washington Nationals, the franchise is hoping that improvements this offseason will result in some more wins in 2025.
It has been quite a few years of rebuilding for the Nationals and there has been a lot of losses since the team won the World Series in 2019. However, despite winning just 71 games last year, there seemed to be reason to be optimistic about the future.
The talented young core in the lineup for Washington started to make an impact in the Majors and this unit could be very exciting to watch in 2025.
Despite some speculation that they might make a big splash in free agency this winter, the Nationals elected to stay the course on their rebuild by signing some veterans to mostly one-year deals.
Since the young core is still developing, not rushing along the timeline does make sense for Washington. Even though they didn’t make a big splash on a free agent, they did spend money to improve this offseason.
Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote about some of the teams that upgraded this offseason. He mentioned the Nationals as a team that is heading in the right direction despite a strange start to the offseason.
“After a half-decade of rebuilding — posting a sub-.440 winning percentage in each of the past five seasons — Washington just might be a .500 team in 2025.”
Despite a slow start to the offseason, it has ended up being a pretty good winter for Washington. The improvements to their lineup at a position of need at first base was good to see. The trade to acquire Nathaniel Lowe gives them a Gold Glove caliber defender and a massive upgrade on offense at the position.
Also, Josh Bell coming back to likely play a majority of the time at designated hitter will also help improve and lengthen the lineup.
In the rotation, the Nationals brought back Trevor Williams on a two-year deal after his impressive campaign in 2024. Also, they will be taking a flyer on veteran Michael Soroka, who has battled a lot of injuries over the last couple of years.
One area that will be a bit of a concern still is the bullpen. This was a unit that saw a lot of change and who will be the closer after the team elected to non-tender Kyle Finnegan remains to be seen.
Overall, it does feel like improvements were made by the Nationals. However, without a significant splash, the upside for the team will likely be getting to the .500 mark, rather than competing for playoff spot in 2025.
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