The Washington Nationals will reportedly promote outfielder James Wooden, among the best prospects within the minor leagues, forward of Monday’s recreation versus the New York Mets. Wooden, the important thing piece within the Juan Soto commerce return, will probably be making his MLB debut in entrance of a house crowd.
Between at times, the Nationals will play a three-game set in opposition to the Tampa Bay Rays, winners of seven of their final 10 video games, that might form their plans for the July 30 commerce deadline. The Nationals, 38-42, will enter Friday’s sequence opener, having misplaced three consecutive video games. They’re now three video games again within the wild-card image, a reality that will say extra concerning the wide-open state of that race than something particular to the Nationals.
To make certain, the Nationals do have an opportunity to make their first playoff look since successful the 2019 World Collection. There are a number of components working in opposition to them, nonetheless, together with a schedule that grades as one of many hardest remaining within the NL. These Nationals additionally, let’s face it, weren’t constructed to compete this season; their winter consisted largely of common supervisor Mike Rizzo including veteran leases he might spin off on the deadline — Jesse Winker, Nick Senzel, and the like.
Typically, groups, like packages, arrive sooner than anticipated. Whether or not or not these Nationals will show to be such an instance is to be seen. However Wooden’s promotion made us assume: what might Rizzo and the Nationals do over the subsequent month to raised place them for a run with out derailing their long-term aspirations? Under, we recognized 4 lifelike and attainable objectives.
1. Work out first base
Just a few years again, Joey Meneses was among the best particular person tales in baseball: a 30-year-old rookie who made good on his long-awaited first MLB alternative by homering 13 occasions in 56 video games. Meneses regressed final season to league-average manufacturing, and now, in his age-32 season, he is been putrid by way of the primary half of this season. To wit, his .240/.297/.319 slash line leads to a 75 wRC+ that makes him the worst-hitting common first baseman in all of the majors.
Meneses’ superior age and restricted profile — he is a right-right first baseman who seldom walks and is not slugging — makes it tough to argue that the Nationals ought to give him for much longer earlier than discovering a unique answer on the chilly nook. That might imply turning first base over to an inner candidate (we’ll contact on one situation later), or it might imply pursuing an exterior choice — maybe a reunion with Josh Bell, or taking a swing on somebody like Andrew Vaughn.
No matter the popular reply, this would appear like a straightforward start line for the Nationals.
2. Improve the pitching workers
This is one other piece of low-hanging fruit. To be clear: we’re not suggesting the Nationals would (or ought to) chase after Garrett Crochet, Mason Miller, or among the different impact-caliber arms; moderately, we expect the Nationals might enhance their workers by sticking to rental center relievers and possibly a back-end starter — teams that, traditionally, have a tendency to come back fairly low cost.
Because it stands, the Nationals rotation contains two pitchers, Patrick Corbin and DJ Herz, who’ve ERA+ beneath 75. The Nationals have two starters nearing the tip of their rehab assignments in All-Star righty Josiah Grey and former first-round decide Cade Cavalli. Grey ought to get a spot when he is prepared, although we’re undecided the Nationals will rush to fit Cavalli in — in any case, he is thrown eight innings since August 2022. Both method, it in all probability would not damage the Nationals to survey the back-end starter rental market, if solely as an insurance coverage coverage in opposition to Trevor Williams‘ absence.
Each contender (or pseudo-contender) needs a brand new reliever on the deadline. The Nationals should be no exception. FanGraphs homes a metric known as “meltdowns” that gauges how usually a bullpen is chargeable for a big loss in win likelihood. Mainly, it is a option to place further significance on the relievers who matter, for they’re those pitching most regularly when the sport’s consequence is doubtful. The Nationals’ bullpen might rank 14th in unit ERA, however they are a bottom-10 squad within the meltdowns class. Including one or two reduction arms might have a cascading impact that helps the complete bullpen do a greater job of holding onto leads down the stretch.
3. Get Ruiz on observe
One place that is at all times tough to fill by way of the commerce market is catcher. This summer time will not show any completely different in that respect. For that motive and others, it is within the Nationals’ finest curiosity to determine what is going on on with Keibert Ruiz.
Ruiz, 25, had hit .256/.310/.388 (97 OPS+) over his first full seasons with the Nationals. This yr, he is batting simply .200/.238/.295 (55 OPS+). Mainly, all the pieces that may development within the unsuitable path has trended within the unsuitable path by way of the primary half of the season. He is hitting the ball weaker on common; he is strolling much less usually (not that he ever did that an excessive amount of); he is placing out extra usually (not that he is doing that an excessive amount of, both); and he is skying the ball extra, leading to a rise in pop-ups.
Ruiz’s protection does not grade properly by way of the lenses of superior stats — he ranks within the twenty fourth percentile in framing and within the third percentile in caught stealing above common — and the Nationals sorely want him to get again to hitting at a league-average clip for him to carry the sort of worth they want from the catcher place.
4. Deliver alongside inner reinforcements
Mentioning Wooden is an effective begin on this entrance, however the Nationals nonetheless have a number of different inner playing cards to play that might enhance their big-league roster over the approaching months.
On the positional aspect, the Nationals have outfielder Dylan Crews, the No. 2 decide in final summer time’s draft, and third baseman Brady Home coming alongside. Crews is a latest Triple-A arrival who in all probability will not issue into the big-league plans till later within the yr. Home, conversely, has spent all season at Double-A, the place he is carried out properly sufficient (109 wRC+ with 13 house runs in 69 video games) that the Nationals ought to ponder shifting him as much as Triple-A prior to later.
The Nationals ought to completely prioritize that duo’s long-term improvement to any short-term features on the big-league stage that come from dashing them alongside, however say they every have a robust few weeks at Triple-A — in some unspecified time in the future, the Nationals would no less than have to contemplate urgent the button. Doing so would then allow the Nationals so as to add size to their lineup, probably fixing their aforementioned first-base difficulty by enabling them to relocate a veteran there.
On the pitching aspect, we already talked about above how the Nationals have some arms coming — like Grey and Cavalli — and the way they might issue into the equation.
Would checking off these 4 containers — bettering at first base and on the workers, getting Ruiz so as, and maintaining an open thoughts with extra homegrown abilities — permit the Nationals to make an surprising playoff push? Possibly not. However Wooden’s arrival ought to no less than get the Nationals dreaming massive and occupied with what comes subsequent.