2020 Nationals Season Preview: How Covid-19 May Benefit Team

by Graham Skinker ‘21

The Washington Nationals 2019 season was one for the history books. The team at one point in June was 19-31, 12 games under .500, and managed to claw all the way back and earn a wildcard spot. The Nationals went on to win the wildcard game, and then just kept on winning, battling back from deficits in numerous elimination games on their way to their first World Series title as a team and the first in the city of Washington since the 1920s. Truly one of the best comeback stories in the history of sports. 

The 2019 Nationals relied heavily on starting pitching and clutch hitting throughout their incredible run. The team continues to value starting pitching heading into the 2020 season (if it happens) as they handed World Series MVP, Stephen Strasburg, a seven-year $245 million contract. The Nats’ biggest weakness from last season was the bullpen. General Manager Mike Rizzo made improving the pen a big focus in the offseason with the acquisition of former Astro Will Harris and the re-signing of Daniel Hudson. The team should continue their pitching dominance with the entire starting rotation returning and the improvement of the bullpen. 

Although the Nats were able to retain Stephen Strasburg, the team took a huge hit when star third baseman, Anthony Rendon, signed a seven-year $245 million contract with the LA Angels. Rendon was arguably the best position player on the team last year and finished third in MVP voting in 2019. There’s no easy way to replace a player of Rendon’s caliber; however, Manager Davey Martinez is giving top prospect Carter Kieboom the chance to step up and fill the hole left at third base. The Nationals also acquired second baseman Starlin Castro, who should be able to make the loss of Rendon’s bat easier to take. If Kieboom can play to his potential and with the addition of Castro and most other key positional players returning, the Nationals lineup should still be among the best. 

No one knows when the 2020 season will start in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic; however, the MLB is discussing some possible ways to get the season started. One scenario is to essentially quarantine players to the state of Arizona and play games in the many spring training facilities that are down there along with the Diamondbacks stadium. The league wants to get all 162 games but that seems ambitious at this point. They are discussing possibly shrinking the schedule down a bit and playing 7-inning double headers on Saturdays. This proposal may actually benefit the Nationals a lot. The team relies heavily on its starting pitching and playing shorter games would allow the team’s starters to pitch the whole game and prevent them from having to go too deep into their bullpen. In addition, playing fewer games would mean the team has to use their fourth and fifth starters less. This would allow the Nats’ big three of Scherzer, Strasburg and Corbin to pitch more, which is a recipe for success for the Nationals. 

For most teams it is hard not to get complacent coming off a championship; however, considering all these factors the Nationals should be able to compete and be right up there in contention for another World Series.