FanPost

2018 Washington Nationals Preview

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Is Washington getting tired of all the winning?

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So long Dusty Baker. Another successful regular season. Another first-round playoff exit.

If you stand just so and squint the right way, the Washington Nationals look kind of like the Cincinnati Reds from just a few years back. There’s a sense of urgency with the team. Free agency looms for a number of key players. The fans want to experience some post-season victories before those players are gone. Coming off its mixed success under Baker, the team has hired a new, younger skipper. He’ll be managing for the first time, but he’s earned accolades during his years on the staffs of successful teams in both leagues.

But the comparison probably only goes so far. For one, the Nats probably aren’t about to embark on a massive rebuild.

Under New Management

Dave Martinez will be the Nats’ new manager, coming over from the Chicago Cubs where he served as Joe Maddon’s bench coach, having followed him there from Tampa where he held the same role. His job is to fine-tune a team the Nationals have already assembled. The bar for success is high -- Martinez is expected to bring long-awaited playoff wins to D.C. Can he marry some of Baker’s interpersonal skills with a fresher approach to baseball management? Or will this be a re-boot of the Matt Williams experiment from 2014-2015?

[add picture] Stupid camel stunt

Pitchers

There’s not much turnover from the team Baker led in 2017. Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg still anchor a starting rotation that also features Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark. Barring a late acquisition, the fifth spot is still up for grabs among holdovers from last year, with A.J. Cole the most likely candidate and competition from youngster Erick Fedde and journeyman Edwin Jackson, who’s in camp again on a minor league contract. The back end of the bullpen will again consist of veterans Sean Doolittle, Brandon Kintzler and Ryan Madson, who credits his post-Reds career resurgence to an electric arm therapy machine.

Position Players

2015 NL-MVP Bryce Harper will be in right field, with Michael A. Taylor back in center after a breakout year. Adam Eaton will be returning from a 2017 season lost to injury, taking the outfield spot Jason Werth occupied for many seasons. Waiting in the wings is consensus MLB top-10 prospect Victor Robles, as well as the Nats’ other top prospect, Juan Soto.

The infield features longtime face of the franchise Ryan Zimmerman at first, 2016-NL-MVP-runner-up Daniel Murphy at second, multi-tool Trea Turner at shortstop and stat-monster Anthony Rendon at third. Howie Kendrick is back along with Matt Adams, replacing Adam Lind, to provide veteran right-and-left-handed bats off the bench as well as defensive back-up. Wilmer Difo, coming off a strong rookie debut, figures to be the utility infielder. He may share time with Kendrick at second base to start the season for Murphy, who is recovering October knee surgery and could need an extended spring.

On paper, the weakest link is behind the plate, where Matt Wieters returns from a disappointing 2017 season and disastrous NLDS. Defensive specialist Pedro Severino is the other catcher on the roster, with catching prospect Raudy Read recently suspended 80 games after testing positive for PEDs. To bolster their depth, the Nationals signed Miguel Montero to a minor league contract. Montero has had a bit of a bumpy career, including an abrupt midseason exit from the Cubs last year, but he could make the roster with an endorsement from manager Dave Martinez, his former coach in Chicago.

Outlook

One key difference from the Reds – the Nationals have a payroll that reflects their large market. And, despite a protracted legal dispute with the neighboring Baltimore Orioles over their share of television revenue, it’s allowed the team to extend big contracts to keep homegrown players like Strasburg and Zimmerman while signing a giant free agent contract for Scherzer and adding solid arms to their bullpen. As a result, the Nationals are now bumping up against the MLB luxury tax. The team’s owners are unlikely to increase payroll much further. Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Gio Gonzalez become free agents at the end of the season. And there’s only one year remaining on General Manager Mike Rizzo’s contract. So there’s a lot of added pressure for playoff success this year.

But with Robles and Difo emerging as natural replacements for Harper and Murphy, and the likely return of Joe Ross to the rotation in 2019 following his July 2017 Tommy John surgery, the Nats are set up to win for longer than just one more year. Still, it could take a few games to adjust to their new manager, and they open the season on the road against a tough young team that’s a bit further along on the post-Baker curve. Look for Martinez’s Nats to get rolling sometime after their opening series.

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