Nationals Have Massive Problem Brewing in Starting Rotation This Season

The Washington Nationals have a glaring hole on the team that is holding them back.

Apr 12, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Washington Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams (32) pitches in the first inning against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals are off to a bit of a sluggish start to the season, but things have improved a bit of late.

Coming into the year, expectations had been raised a bit for the Nationals. After a lot of losing in recent campaigns, the franchise is trying to take a step forward in 2025.

While making the postseason might not be realistic, they do have the chance to hover around the .500 mark, which would be a noticeable improvement and likely considered a successful year.

This winter, the team was pretty aggressive in the offseason, bringing in some talented veterans on one-year deals to help improve, but keep financial flexibility for next winter.

While there were plenty of needs for the team after winning just 71 games last season, the team did address most of them. However, while the lineup is starting to emerge as something special with all of their young talent, the starting rotation is proving to be a bit of an issue early on.

Tim Britton of The Athletic (subscription required) recently spoke about the biggest problem for the team being the back-end of their rotation.

“MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker have been strong in the rotation, but the Nats’ veteran additions there have not. Trevor Williams hasn’t been as sharp as he was through last season and Michael Soroka is on the injured list with a biceps strain.”

Coming into the year, the rotation was certainly a concern for Washington. While the batting order has a lot of young talent emerging, the rotation does seem to be a bit further behind.

So far, the Nationals have two starters performing well in MacKenzie Gore and Mitchell Parker. However, there isn’t much help behind them.

Both of the veterans that Washington signed haven’t lived up to expectations yet, with Trevor Williams struggling and Michael Soroka already on the injured list. Furthermore, Jake Irvin isn’t producing either, making this rotation quite a mess.

While there is hope that Williams will return to his form in 2024, Soroka has been injured a ton since making the All-Star team in 2019 and had to be considered a flyer when they signed him.

While the back-end of the unit might not be performing well, Washington should be pleased with how Gore and especially Parker look in 2025.

This wasn’t a team that was expected to compete this year. Instead, it was another season of development and seeing who could be in the plans for years to come.

So far, Gore and Parker have certainly looked like long-term pieces. However, it will be hard to improve in the win column with the rotation struggling as much as it has overall.