This One Statistic Shows Nationals Still Have Major Uphill Battle in Their Rebuild
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The first goal of every team entering the Major League Baseball season is to win their respective division, and the Washington Nationals are no different.
While the likelihood of accomplishing that goal varies from team to team depending on the season, it's still something every club aims to do since that guarantees them a spot in the playoffs. Because of that, seeing how teams stack up against each other in their respective divisions is a good way to gauge who is trending in the right direction and who still has a ways to go before getting to the top.
For the Nationals, they fall into the latter category. And that was especially true after they were swept by the New York Mets in a three-game set from Aug. 14-16. and then they were swept by the Miami Marlins in a three-game set this past weekend.
Nationals Now 2-19 Against NL East Opponents in Last 21 Games
Washington has lost 19 out of their last 21 games against NL East opponents after those two sweeps. Those losses have featured a little bit of everything, too. They've blown multiple late-inning leads. They've lost in walk-off fashion. They've been blown out. They've lost high-scoring and low-scoring games. And, worst of all, the last time the Nationals even won multiple games in a series against a divisional opponent, it came back in late May.
Since that point, Washington was outscored 119-70 in the following 21 matchups. When their offense showed up, their pitching staff didn't. And when the arms performed, the bats were cold.
For much of the year, the Nationals flirted with an NL wild card spot. They had the best offense in baseball, and despite fielding one of the worst pitching staffs, they were able to score their way into the playoff race. But during those NL East matchups, when the opposing team is more familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of each player, Washington struggled. And it's now clear that there is still a major uphill battle for the Nationals when it comes to getting this rebuild to the point where they can compete for division titles, once again.
Nationals Have to Close Talent Gap in Near Future
For that to happen, more talent has to be infused into this major league roster. That is an obvious statement, but it's also the reality of the situation that Washington has been living in ever since they decided to tear things down following their World Series championship in 2019.
Increasing payroll would certainly help. Spotrac has them just shy of $99 million for their payroll this season, which puts them No. 26 in the bigs. However, not spending money shouldn't be an excuse, as the Miami Marlins -- who have owned the Nationals as of late -- have an even lower payroll than Washington with a figure of around $82.3 million, which puts them second to last.
Of course, more money spent usually equates to a higher level of talent across the roster, which is the case for the other three NL East teams; the Mets rank No. 1 ($345.3 million), the Philadelphia Phillies rank No. 4 ($288.1 million) and the Atlanta Braves rank No. 6 ($259.7 million).
The Nationals aren't under the illusion that they are ready to compete for championships right now. That's one of the reasons why president of baseball operations Paul Toboni was hired in the first place, as his expertise is centered around the development of young players to build a strong organizational foundation.
That part is where Washington might be set up for success in this division, as their farm system was one of the biggest year-over-year risers across the majors based on the talent they have within their pipeline following trades that were made and the draft picks they selected.
But what has transpired over the last 21 NL East matchups has made it clear that there is still long ways to go in the nation's capital before they are ready to reach the mountain top.
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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