The Washington Nationals spoke about bringing in veteran leadership, and general manager Mike Rizzo signed Nathaniel Lowe, Josh Bell, and Trevor Williams as three veteran leaders. Lowe, a World Series champion, is already talking about being a team leader for these young Nats.
“I think it’s time to spend at a point. We’re going to see who’s available, and what fits we have out there. But I think that it’s time for us to add to the roster, because we’ve got a good young core.”
— Rizzo said in September to MLB. com
“Some veteran leadership, I think, is warranted.”
The few times Rizzo spoke in September and at the Winter Meetings, we got some small clues of what he was looking for in achieving his offseason goals. He never quantified much other to say he was looking for a couple of middle-of-the-order bats. So we knew he was looking for two players as he quantified that by saying “a couple.” And yes, they had to fit in the middle of his lineup. Lowe and Bell meet that criteria, but many fans wanted more.
The only remaining question is whether or not Rizzo will be acquiring any other players that also fit his criteria. He was looking for some veteran leadership too. While many imagined a Jayson Werth type of leader would be signed by the Nats, our source said, “Will there ever be another Werth?”
There are players like Lowe who have those special leadership attributes, and he just needs to be himself. Our source couldn’t comment on Bell because he is not officially signed yet.
With the pitching staff bringing back Williams and signing veteran Michael Soroka, the younger pitchers will certainly have them as their veteran leaders. Williams already knows all of them, and Soroka will get to know them all in Spring Training in about six weeks.
With the chances of other players being signed, we will see if Rizzo adds any other veterans to the staff in the next few weeks.
