Of course we will continue to stay non-political. However, we feel this is a perfect time for a State of the Nationals. Mike Rizzo holds the dual title of President of Baseball Operations as well as General Manager of the Washington Nationals. This weekend the Nationals will be holding their own State of the Nationals “Hot Stove” on Saturday. This event will be led by Mike Rizzo, manager Dave Martinez and Valerie Camillo.
You will hear about the current state of the Nationals and the future projections. You will most likely hear from Mike Rizzo that he likes the current team he has. To know Mike Rizzo, you are quite aware that he is never fully satisfied and always looking to improve his team.
“I know we haven’t won the World Series,” Mike Rizzo said. “But I get tired of hearing how we can’t win the big one, or we can’t get out of the first round. We haven’t had that many chances.”
Winning the big post-season games is the elephant in the room that is hard to miss and not judge the Nationals by what has not been accomplished — but it also depends on how you define success. The Nationals have won four of the last six NL East crowns. The Nationals are also within four wins of having the best record in the Major Leagues since 2012.
The overall changes in the Nationals coaching staff will create a wait and see on their performance as a group. For the roster, the team will have back players like Adam Eaton who should be healthy for the 2018 season. Bryce Harper who never seemed right after his leg injury has been reportedly doing great in his off-season workouts. Daniel Murphy finished the season with his own knee injury and had microfracture and debridement surgery to repair his knee. These are positive developments that the Nationals can return to good health with key players.
On top of all of that, there is future employment opportunities with the Nationals. They can look to add some pitching through free agency as well as a catcher. Time will tell on this. If you trust Fangraphs, they are estimating the Nationals to win another NL East crown. If you don’t trust anything, you are probably in the majority of sports fans.
The Nationals look strong, and the future looks bright says the optimist. Play the games, and we will find out. Opening Day is 58 days away.
