The Nationals need to be terrible for a few years and improve their draft position while stockpiling prospects. Free agents should be signed only to short 1-2 year deals with the intention of flipping them to contenders at the deadline if they play well, and even then only if they do not take away playing time for a young'in who needs to be developed.
Looking at the trade acquisitions it seemed they were looking to be bad for 2021 and probably 2022, but not beyond that. If you're planning to tank for a couple years you don't trade for guys who are major-league ready but instead ask for more/better prospects who are doing well in high-A or AA. And if you're planning to tank for more than 2022, you should probably trade Soto this winter as you'd be wasting his value as he impeded your tank job and you killed any chance of him wanting to stay.
Agree on the veteran signings, though.
