As they watched the final inning of the World Series late Saturday night, Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez and anyone else with a connection to the Nationals surely were focused on Dusty Baker, thrilled to see their friend and former colleague finally win a championship as a manager, some 41 years after he won his lone title as a player.
Like so many others across the baseball world, they were rooting for Baker to get over the final hump that should lock up his permanent residence in Cooperstown. And like so many others across the baseball world, they probably weren’t excited to watch the Astros win their second World Series title, five years after their first one became tainted by a sign-stealing scandal that made them into the sport’s biggest villains.
But once the emotions of Saturday’s events in Houston wore off, it would have been appropriate for Rizzo, Martinez and everyone else who cares about the Nats to have another thought: How have the Astros been able to sustain their success and win a second championship while our own local franchise now finds itself a 107-loss disaster only three years after hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy on that very same field?
The easy answer is to lament the Nationals’ inability to retain the core of star players that led them to that glorious moment in October 2019. Juan Soto, Max Scherzer, Anthony Rendon, Trea Turner and Ryan Zimmerman are all gone now, the first four not because they retired like Zimmerman but because they either were traded away or departed as free agents.
If only they had been willing to spend what it took to keep some of those cornerstones – not to mention Bryce Harper, who was two wins away from winning his first World Series ring with the Phillies – the Nats wouldn’t be in this awful predicament right now.
The Nationals are bringing back Sean Doolittle in 2023, re-signing the popular, rehabbing reliever only hours after he officially became a free agent.
Doolittle, who appeared in only five games last season before suffering a major elbow injury, agreed to terms on a minor league contract that includes an invitation to big league camp next spring. He’ll attempt to prove he’s healthy again and make the opening day bullpen.
The 36-year-old left-hander rejoined the Nationals on a $1.5 million major league contract this spring after spending 2021 with the Reds and Mariners. He immediately looked like the best version of himself from his first stint with the organization (2017-20), tossing 5 1/3 scoreless innings during the season’s first two weeks, not even allowing a batter to reach base until his sixth appearance.
But Doolittle experienced left elbow pain after that and landed on the 10-day injured list with a sprain of the ulnar collateral ligament. He was transferred to the 60-day IL a few weeks later but was hopeful he’d be able to return to pitch sometime during the season.
That didn’t happen. When the elbow pain returned as he attempted to start throwing off a mound again, Doolittle had to be shut down and make a decision. Ultimately, he opted to undergo an internal brace procedure that is less invasive than Tommy John surgery and typically allows a pitcher to return in about half the time it takes to rehab from a full ligament replacement.
PLAYER REVIEW: CORY ABBOTT
Age on opening day 2023: 27
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Giants, May 2022
MLB service time: 83 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: ANDRES MACHADO
Age on opening day 2023: 29
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, February 2021
MLB service time: 1 year, 86 days
2022 salary: $708,200
PLAYER REVIEW: STEVE CISHEK
Age on opening day 2023: 36
How acquired: Signed as free agent, March 2022
MLB service time: 11 years, 143 days
2022 salary: $1.75 million
PLAYER REVIEW: HUNTER HARVEY
Age on opening day 2023: 28
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Giants, March 2022
MLB service time: 3 years, 47 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: ERASMO RAMIREZ
Age on opening day 2023: 32
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, March 2022
MLB service time: 8 years, 1 day
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: CARL EDWARDS JR.
Age on opening day 2023: 31
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, February 2022
MLB service time: 5 years, 169 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: KYLE FINNEGAN
Age on opening day 2023: 31
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2019
MLB service time: 3 years
2022 salary: $725,900
PLAYER REVIEW: ANÍBAL SÁNCHEZ
Age on opening day 2023: 39
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, March 2022
MLB service time: 15 years, 83 days
2022 salary: $2 million
PLAYER REVIEW: PAOLO ESPINO
Age on opening day 2023: 36
How acquired: Signed as minor league free agent, January 2019
MLB service time: 2 years, 75 days
2022 salary: $716,200
PLAYER REVIEW: MACKENZIE GORE
Age on opening day 2023: 24
How acquired: Traded from Padres with CJ Abrams, Luke Voit, Robert Hassell III, James Wood and Jarlin Susana for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, August 2022
MLB service time: 1 year
2022 salary: $700,000
Despite a performance he deemed substandard by his career norms, Luke Voit nonetheless received at least some support for a Silver Slugger Award this season.
The 31-year-old, acquired by the Nationals in this summer's Juan Soto-Josh Bell blockbuster trade, was revealed today as one of six finalists for the Silver Slugger among National League designated hitters. Winners at every position will be announced Nov. 11.
Owner of an .818 OPS over the entirety of his six-year career with the Cardinals, Yankees, Padres and Nationals, Voit finished the 2022 season with career lows in batting average (.226), on-base percentage (.308), slugging percentage (.402) and OPS (.710). His 22 homers matched a career high, though he set that mark during the 60-game, pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he actually led the American League.
Silver Slugger Awards are selected by managers and coaches, who submitted their votes in late September. Voit joins Bell (listed only as a Padre), Albert Pujols, Justin Turner, Charlie Blackmon and Bryce Harper as finalists. There is no second round of voting still to come. The "finalists" were merely those players who received votes.
No other Nationals players received Silver Slugger votes this season, though Soto was named a finalist among NL outfielders. Like Bell, he was listed only as a member of the Padres, even though he spent more of the season playing for Washington.
PLAYER REVIEW: CADE CAVALLI
Age on opening day 2023: 24
How acquired: First-round pick, 2020 draft
MLB service time: 41 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: ERICK FEDDE
Age on opening day 2023: 30
How acquired: First-round pick, 2014 draft
MLB service time: 4 years, 99 days
2022 salary: $2.15 million
PLAYER REVIEW: PATRICK CORBIN
Age on opening day 2023: 33
How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2018
MLB service time: 10 years, 105 days
2022 salary: $23 million
PLAYER REVIEW: JOSIAH GRAY
Age on opening day 2023: 25
How acquired: Traded with Keibert Ruiz, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo from Dodgers for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021
MLB service time: 1 year, 75 days
2022 salary: $703,500
PLAYER REVIEW: TRES BARRERA
Age on opening day 2023: 28
How acquired: Sixth-round pick, 2016 draft
MLB service time: 172 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: ALEX CALL
Age on opening day 2023: 28
How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Guardians, August 2022
MLB service time: 74 days
2022 salary: $700,000
PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS
Age on opening day 2023: 26
How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021
MLB service time: 1 year, 49 days
2022 salary: $706,700