Grading Washington Nationals' 2015-16 Offseason

After such a disappointing 2015 season, there was a considerable amount of pressure on the Washington Nationals to do something substantial this offseason to get back on top in the NL East. However, aside from bringing in Dusty Baker as their new manager, Washington has failed to make any major acquisitions and significantly improve the team, giving them a modest grade at best for the 2015-16 offseason.

To their credit, the Nationals pursued some of the top free agents on the market this offseason, including Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist and Yoenis Cespedes, but they failed to persuade any of them to come to Washington. Instead, those three players all signed with teams that are now considered to be among the top favorites in the National League, including Cespedes, who turned down a five-year offer from Washington to sign with the NL East rival New York Mets.

The two main additions the Nationals did make this offseason were center fielder Ben Revere and second baseman Daniel Murphy. Revere is a viable replacement after Denard Span left in free agency and will keep the Nats from relying too much on Michael Taylor, who had a disappointing 2015 season. Meanwhile, Murphy will replace some of the offensive firepower and defensive versatility Washington lost by not re-signing Ian Desmond and by trading Yunel Escobar. Both are solid pickups and should be productive players, but neither is the marquee player Washington needed, especially since they’re still relying on aging, injury-prone players like Jayson Werth and Ryan Zimmerman.

On the pitching front, the Nationals underwent a significant shakeup this offseason, and not necessarily for the better. The team chose not to re-sign Doug Fister and Jordan Zimmermann, causing the rotation to lose some of its depth, at least until prospects A.J. Cole and Lucas Giolito are ready to come to the big leagues.

The bullpen also experienced upheaval, as the Nationals said goodbye to Craig Stammen, Drew Storen and Casey Janssen one way or another. They have been replaced with the likes of Yusmeiro Petit and Shawn Kelley, with Jonathan Papelbon being retained to fill the closer’s role after a rocky start to his tenure in Washington last season.

On paper, it’s hard to be impressed by what the Nationals accomplished this winter. They didn’t get any of their top free agent targets, nor did they make a much-needed upgrade at catcher. The players they did acquire are modest upgrades at best, and until their top prospects are ready, their rotation is not as good nor as deep as it’s been in past years. Overall, the Nationals should not feel satisfied with what they did this offseason.

Grade: C-