Ninety eight wins. Only four teams have won 98 games or more since Opening Day in 2006. None of those teams did it two years in a row. The Washington Nationals are the newest potential juggernaut and a perfect storm is forming for “Natitude” to be around for awhile.
With players like: Stephen Strasburg, Bryce Harper, Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa just getting their careers underway and already contributing at elite levels, the Nationals are here to stay for a long time.
Add: Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Drew Storen, Tyler Clippard, Denard Span, Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche to the mix, all guys in their primes, and the next few years in Washington can be something truly special.
Washington just finished trading Michael Morse for two prospects, including number three ranked A’s pitcher, A.J. Cole, Blake Treine and a player to be named later to help insure the farm system stays as a reliable pipeline. Morse, a mediocre outfielder with health concerns but a 30 home run bat, was without a position going into the season with LaRoche signed for two years at first base, Harper, Span and Jayson Werth in the outfield and no DH in the NL.
As has been the case with almost every move lately for the long-time struggling Nationals, it was the right one.
Speaking of the outfield, Denard Span headlines three key players acquired this offseason, with closer Rafael Soriano and catcher Kurt Suzuki joining him. While Morse topped out as a 3 WAR player in 2011, his best season by far, Span supplied a 3.9 WAR as recently as last year and comes with elite defense and no health concerns. What he lacks in power, he makes up for with 17 stolen bases, a .283/.342 line and just 62 strikeouts as a top of the order hitter.
In other words, Morse was a solid player in Washington, but his value was more than replaced with Span, and that doesn’t speak to the fact Suzuki, while not a solid player, can’t be a dropoff from the lack of production Washington normally gets from the catcher position anyway (plus there’s always the chance 25 year old Wilson Ramos overthrows him and takes over the position full-time).
Soriano, on the other hand, deepens what was already a solid bullpen. Washington’s main playoff regret was blowing a six run lead in a deciding game to St. Louis before the Giants went and won everything all over again. This year, it will be the Bronx-tested Soriano manning the ninth inning, with Clippard and Storen eating up the seventh and eight. With a pitching staff arguably the best in baseball and certainly in the top five, there is not much room for opposing teams to break out against Washington’s defense which features two elite throwing arms on each end of the outfield and an overall decent fielding infield to compliment starters who can eat innings and a lethal back of the bullpen.
More specifically, the Nationals have an improved offense, which should be more reliable if Zimmerman can stay healthy, Harper can take the next step and Span can make a seamless transition to the NL.
The bullpen lost three valuable lefty relievers when Mike Gonzalez, Sean Burnett and Tom Gorzelanny walked this offseason, but it still features Craig Stammen and the aforementioned three pitchers with closer experience who have solid splits against lefties. Christian Garcia and Zach Duke will also look to build off of excellent brief stints from 2012.
The rotation should be improved as well. Strasburg no longer has an innings limit and should complete a full season, Gonzalez will look to build off of a Cy Young caliber year at the age of 27, Ross Detwiler and Jordan Zimmermann return in their primes for another year and Washington effectively replaced Edwin Jackson with Dan Haren. Haren struggled last season, but if he can recover just a little bit, has a ceiling much higher than Jackson’s. The only thing which can work against Washington is the fact all five of its starters stayed healthy in 2012, and that’s unlikely to continue in back to back seasons (plus Chien-Ming Wang and John Lannan are no longer with the team to provide insurance.)
Finally, the Miami Marlins are no longer Major League caliber. In the wake of gutting all of its talent minus Giancarlo Stanton, the team who gave Washington trouble last season (9-9 head to head) should not pose the same challenge in 2013. Look for Washington to not only be a strong candidate to win 98 games again in 2013, but perhaps comfortably exceed 100 wins as well.
