Going Deep with The Nats

The Washington Nationals knew they were getting some much-needed payroll relief with Patrick Corbin‘s contract coming off of the books as of this offseason. The team has $70 million remaining on Stephen Strasburg‘s retirement deal that is a hit of $35 million per year for the next two years. And Strasburg is the only 8-digit obligation the team has on the books. Get beyond those two years remaining on Strasburg — and the coast is clear.

The highest projected active contract going into the offseason is the arbitration number of approximately $8.6 million for Kyle Finnegan‘s final contractual year. The only long-term contract is with Keibert Ruiz at $6.25 million a year through 2030.

MLB Trade Rumors published their offseason arbitration projections for players with at least 3.0 years of service time. They did not include potential Super-Two players like CJ Abrams. If we include Abrams in the numbers at a $3.3 million projected salary, the Nationals would have an AAV (average annual value) for the CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) payroll at approximately $85 (including Strasburg) for just team-controlled salary players. That is exactly $50 million for active players.

If the Washington Nationals pitched to their FIP as their ERA, they would be in the postseason. The Nats finished the season with the 9th best FIP in baseball at 3.94 while turning in an horrific season as a defensive team. FIP is directly affected by defense, and the Nats were the 5th worst defensive team in baseball. Suffice it to say that all playoff teams this year had positive defense except for San Diego, and they were just a -4 runs while the Nats were -22 runs.

MY RANT: Yesterday, after seeing a few posts on social media of players disbursing to their offseason homes, you look at the calendar — and it was only September 30th. These 130+ day offseasons stink. We all hate it, and that reality has to change to meaningful September games, and Octobers with watching the Washington Nationals in the playoffs.

The offseason has started for the Washington Nationals. At the end of tomorrow’s doubleheader between the Mets and Braves, there will be 18-teams that are setting tee times for golf.

The front offices of those 18-teams are getting to work, and Nats’ general manager Mike Rizzo will be working on his 2025 plan and doing a final assessment on the 2024 season. A source told us that in early October, the front office and coaches and player development people will be setting offseason exit interviews with all players that they plan to bring back for the 2025 season.

Of course most people here want to see big upgrades on the big league roster. Better players translating into more wins. That will take a financial commitment from ownership, and while principal owner Mark Lerner has said per a source that, “Mike Rizzo will have the financial resources he needs this offseason,” we saw what Lerner said a year ago in the quote below — and there was only a moderate uptick in payroll with no long-term signings.