Agree with this. If Robles, Soto, Rendon, and Turner develop into 6+ win players, the Nats will be competitive for years. That’s not by any mean a certainty, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. If they sustain significant injuries, the Nats will suck. Also not outside the realm of
Possibility. Speculating past 2019 seems silly.
I can see the "fun" in it, but mostly it is an exercise I did when the Expos/early Nats were bad and I was daydreaming of prospects developing and a better lineup down the line. Unless Rizzo leaves, I see him more retooling than ever tearing down and rebuilding.
With the starting pitching, the only certainty right now seems to be that Gio Gonzalez won't be here beyond this season. With the way his velo has severely declined, the tight rope he was able to walk in 2017 after falling off of the 2 years prior will remain dangerous as he further ages. Stras has had durability issues, but how many pitchers don't have some concerns? SPs in this day and age are just fragile by nature. I think he's continued to adjust and do things to help him stay healthy and get through the season. I feel good about him being at the start of his prime now and smart enough to do everything possible to stay healthy in the coming years. Max still has the velo, but he's such a bulldog and his secondary stuff is so good that I think his decline will be slow and gradual. I like Roark continuing on as a solid #3/#4 guy, and hopefully Fedde/Ross/Cole can have at least 1 emerge as a quality option on the back-end. With the guys coming off and potentially coming off the books after this season, I also wouldn't rule out making a big splash in the free agent market next winter. The key will be to start to develop some prospects to take the torch from Max and later Stras and Roark.
As for position players, Harper is obviously a huge question mark. Eaton has a nice immediate future with us, and Robles seems like a can't-miss starter somewhere in the OF. I think Soto isn't far behind. I don't think we'll need to hit free agency or the trade market hard there.
Replacing Murph is going to be likely the biggest storyline of the next offseason beyond Harper's decision. With Murph's age and knee, I think his future is at 1B or DH someplace. I don't think Difo is going to be counted on. If Howie stays healthy until Murph makes it back, Difo just won't get enough opportunity to show last year's progress was enough to bank on him everyday. If finding a 2B proves troubling, and there is value with available 3B (like there was this year when Moustakas went dirt cheap back to KC), I'd consider moving Rendon back to 2B and signing a 3B. The market for 1B that can barely play the OF like Lind and Adams is cheap as we've seen, so we should be able to find a lefty compliment to the aging Zim at 1B. Obviously when Zim's contract is up we'll have to find a permanent answer at 1B, however that's not a difficult position to fill adequately. We'll see if Severino proves to be the future at C.
As for the bullpen, those can be retooled year to year. It would be nice if Koda Glover become a fixture that can stay healthy.
