But with the addition of a solid pitcher to go with the young promising pitchers who have emerged this year
Not enough. And the promise of those young pitchers has been eroding quickly.
On June 1, this team was 5th best in the NL in Runs Against with 241. Today it's 3rd worst at 588. First issue is defense, the team is 27th of 30 in MLB in defensive runs saved and would be 29th without Jacob Young. The carelessness and lack of situational awareness is a coaching issue, one that no one will be held accountable for now. A good rebuild starts with these kinds of fundamentals because they're far cheaper to acquire than power bats or pitchers, yet that foundation is simply not in place here.
Second issue is innings per start have dropped from 5.5 before July 1, to 4.8 since then. This is partially the result of wear and tear on the arms but more so the next issue...
They've made no adjustments to being scouted. Mitchell Parker had a 7.89 ERA in July, followed by a 5.28 ERA so far in August. The league has figured him out and he's given up 8 HRs in just 37 IP since July 1. Jake Irvin had a 4.75 ERA in July, followed by 5.94 ERA in August, also giving up an insane number of HRs like Parker.
Next, MacKenzie Gore has not been an MLB level pitcher since July 1, walking 24 batters in 33 innings, averaging close to 20 pitches per inning, most in MLB, and averaging 4.4 innings per start during that time.
Then there's Corbin.
Only DJ Herz has improved, but he was getting rocked earlier in the season so there was less for scouts to adjust to. Moreover, he's averaged under 5 innings per start because they've been keeping him on a low pitch count.
The result has been a soaring team ERA and an overworked bullpen.
So how do you improve defense? Situational awareness? Adjusting approach so you can pitch well for 30 starts, not 10? Adjusting to the adjustments other teams have made against you? Not just by signing free agents, but hiring good coaches and a manager who know how to address this. The Nats don't have any of that, and won't next season.