Offseason report: Washington Nationals

*Photo from Washington.org*

   Up next, the world champion Washington Nationals offseason is profiled

2019 recap

After a 19-31 start, the Nationals banded together and put together a comeback for the ages, and had an incredible postseason as they took home their first world series title to the city of Washington. 

What you need to know

The Nationals had a goal to re-sign key cog Stephen Strasburg, and they got it done, signing him to a 7 year deal worth $245 million. They also brought back Howie Kendrick and Yan Gomes a day later. After they lost star 3B Anthony Rendon to the Angels, the Nats fortified their infield, starting with signing Starlin Castro, who can play all over the infield. They signed bullpen stalwart Will Harris, who they ironically beat in game 7 of the world series. They signed Eric Thames to play first and brought back utility infielder Asdrubal Cabrera. They also brought back Mr.National in Ryan Zimmerman on a reduced salary, and they re-signed Daniel Hudson, who was solid for the Nats last season. Now, here we are

Moves I like

Losing Rendon will sting, but they basically have his replacement in top prospect Carter Kieboom, and Castro, Cabrera, and even Zimmerman can all play 3rd base. Gomes and Kurt Suzuki were a good catching tandem last season, so bringing Gomes back keeps the gang intact. Kendrick had several clutch moments in the playoffs, so he's a good signing too. Strasburg keeps the strong, high end pitching staff of Strasburg, Scherzer, and Corbin intact, and there's no signs he'll fall off a cliff either, so that's good. Thames isn't as good as he was in recent years, but he forms a good platoon with Zimmerman at first. Hudson and Harris combine with Sean Doolittle to form a good back end of the bullpen, which Washington will desperately need since the front end is still looking really sketchy. 

2020 outlook

Washington is unlikely to repeat after losing Rendon to the Angels. Regardless, they bolstered up in all the right places, except for doing nothing about the front end of the bullpen, so they are in a good position to make the wild card game at minimum, and maybe, just maybe, they'll track down the Braves in the NL East.