Four years ago, the Washington Nationals were the darlings of Major League Baseball. Just after losing Bryce Harper, the Nationals upset the Astros in the World Series for their first championship in franchise history. Since winning that championship, things have only gotten worse for the Nationals. Since winning the World Series, the Nationals have had three straight losing seasons. With Washington heading into the post-Juan Soto era, I believe the Nationals might break the New York Mets’ single-season loss record of 120.
Last year, the Nationals went 55-107. Their 107 losses were a franchise worst since they moved to Washington. If you want to go back further, this ties the 1976 Montreal Expos for the worst record in the franchise’s history. For 103 of those games, the Nationals had both Juan Soto and Josh Bell. When those two were dealt to the San Diego Padres at the deadline, the Nationals’ record was 36-69. This included the month of July, which saw the Nationals only win six games! Even during the Soto trade, the original veteran player who was supposed to come over, Eric Hosmer, used his no-trade clause and went to Boston instead. After Bell and Soto were traded, the Nationals went 20-39 in the last three months of the regular season.
One Bright Spot That Might Be Darkened
As bad as the Nationals were, they still had a solid bullpen. They were ranked 15th in the league in bullpen ERA during the 2022 season. Their bullpen was anchored by Carl Edwards Jr., Erasmo Ramirez, and Kyle Finnegan. However, as good as those guys were in 2022, I expect the Nationals to try to trade those players, given their value is very high right now. The Nationals need more top prospects in order for their rebuild to have a chance at having success. Those guys could be useful for a team looking to contend for a championship. Since those players will most likely be gone, the bullpen probably won’t be as good.
A Bad Offense, Even With Josh Bell and Juan Soto
Even with Josh Bell and Juan Soto, the Nationals’ offense was awful. They ranked 22nd in baseball in OPS at .687. Only the Royals, Rays, Reds, Marlins, Pirates, Tigers, and Athletics had lower OPSs. Their offense also had a major power outage, as they only hit a total of 136 home runs. Juan Soto led the way with 21 in only a partial season in Washington. Only the Tigers and Guardians hit fewer home runs. Aside from Juan Soto and Josh Bell, the other player to get into the double digs in home runs was Nelson Cruz with ten. Cruz is most likely not returning to the team this season. While they do have a promising prospect in CJ Abrams from the Soto trade, he won’t be enough to overcome their offensive ineptitude.
The only free agent move the Nationals made this offseason was for former Mets top prospect Dominic Smith. The Nationals signed him to a one-year deal. Smith isn’t a player to get excited over. He has been mostly used as a part-time player, appearing in over 140 games just once in his career. Having said that, expectations should be tempered for him this season.
A Horrendous Rotation
The Nationals starting rotation is going to be the worst in the league once again. Stephen Strasburg hasn’t had a healthy season since 2019. Since signing that big six-year deal, Patrick Corbin hasn’t had a winning year since 2019. For the past three seasons, Corbin has had a record of 17-42 with an ERA of 5.84. He has led the league in losses two years in a row, and his 6.31 ERA last season was his career worst. Everyone else in the Nationals rotation didn’t have more than seven wins. Their pitching rotation is going to be at the bottom of the league.
A Long Season Ahead
There is no way the Nationals are going to be competitive in 2023. They have essentially been ripped down to the studs. They are also rumored to be for sale by the Lerner family, so there probably isn’t much investment in the team coming from ownership. This will make it even more difficult to avoid possibly breaking the Mets’ loss record from 1962.
The Nationals are going to be a worse team than they were last year. While they received some promising young players in the Juan Soto trade, it won’t be enough to be competitive. With how tough the NL East is with the Braves, Mets, and Phillies, the Nationals don’t stand a chance. With everyone playing a balanced schedule this year, it’ll also greatly increase Washington’s chances of shattering the record. Brace yourselves, Nationals fans; you might see history being made but not in a good way. The Mets 120 loss record doesn’t seem out of the question.
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