It has to be part of a larger discussion about the fact that everything the Nats did those years was to try to win it all at least once. They did that, and choosing to pay Corbin instead of Harper (which was essentially the choice) was a big part of that. They don't really have much plan at all for the next few years, as far as I can tell.
This team isn't going to be good on an open-ended basis. The farm system is trash, for one. Scherzer is old and going to be a free agent. Strasburg and Corbin are getting into their decline years. Robles hasn't been very good recently. Turner's coming up on free agency. Besides Soto - granted, a pretty big "besides" - the team has no players who are reasonable bets to be top contributors 2-3 years from now. You're basically looking at the Angels from 3-4 years ago.
the plan is/was
- Transition to a new offensive core of Soto, Turner, Robles, Garcia, and Kieboom
- Fill in around them with FAs as needed (Bell, Schwarber)
- Maintain a rotation centered around Strasburg and Corbin, perhaps even Max for another year or two
- Develop Cavelli and Rutledge to take on rotation slots
Unfortunately, Robles and Kieboom aren't cooperating, and Strasburg and Corbin are struggling as well. They did have a plan, it's just not working so far.