WASHINGTON — Make sure you enjoy every minute of the ride that begins on Monday, because this version of the Washington Nationals is making one more push for a world title.
There’s a very good chance this year will be the last you see of Jordan Zimmermann, Ian Desmond, Denard Span and Doug Fister in a Nationals uniform. All will be free agents this offseason, and I don’t see Mike Rizzo making a big push to sign them to long-term contracts. The team did offer Zimmermann and Desmond contract extensions a year ago, but reports were that they were lowball offers.
I hate to be the bearer of more bad news, but next offseason we will go through the same questions with Stephen Strasburg, Drew Storen and Craig Stammen.
The question is going to be: Will the Nationals be able to avoid the elephant in the room and go out and play ball?
I think with the leadership in this clubhouse, they will be able to do so, and to a man they say they aren’t thinking about the future, only the task at hand in 2015.
It’s amazing how far we’ve come in 10 years. We were begging for these kinds of problems when this team was losing 100 games in back-to-back years.
When the team came to town 10 years ago, we knew they were going to be bad for quite some time. The message was simple: Be patient. We are going to build this team with young players and stockpile the minor-leaguers.
The Nationals lost 100 games in 2008 and 2009. As a result, along came Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, two cornerstones of this franchise, with number-one picks in back-to-back years.
Jayson Werth shocked the major league world by leaving Philadelphia in December 2010 and signing a seven-year contract worth $126 million. That deal set the tone for this franchise.
We’ve seen Rizzo work some magic in acquiring key pieces to this team that has won the NL East two of the last three years — Gio Gonzalez, Fister, Span and Wilson Ramos, to name a few.
Now, we will see the result of the stockpiled talent. Rizzo will have decisions to make regarding whom he wants to sign to long-term deals or let walk to plug in someone new. I don’t think it’s going to be as easy he might think. Only time will tell.
Rizzo has already begun planning for possible departures by making a big splash this offseason, signing Max Scherzer to a $210 million deal. Let’s not overlook the fact that he added a Cy Young Award-winner to a rotation that led the major leagues in starters’ ERA last year at 3.04. Scherzer was a mere 70-24 over the past four years with the Tigers.
I’m not saying that the team is going to change completely after this year — the minor leagues are still strong and this team is still young. But this core as we’ve grown to know over the last few years will look different.
The rotation is being anointed as the best in baseball; the lineup is loaded with firepower and the defense is solid. The bullpen could be a question mark, but there aren’t many on this team. In a few short months there very well could be a parade in downtown D.C. with a World Series trophy. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and then, but this team very well knows that this is the year to get it done, because the future is very uncertain.
Enjoy the ride.
