Fate of 2023 Nats doesn't fall on offseason additions

The Nationals’ offseason moves to date have been, well, less than inspired.

They signed Jeimer Candelario for one year and $5 million, then Trevor Williams for two years and $13 million. They acquired, via the Rule 5 draft and the waiver wire, unproven players named Thad Ward, Stone Garrett and A.J. Alexy. They brought back sentimental favorites Sean Doolittle and Matt Adams on minor league deals. And they’re now on the verge of bringing back Erasmo Ramirez for one year and perhaps as much as $2 million if he hits all his incentives.

Not exactly a rousing Hot Stove League to date. Certainly not compared to the rest of the National League East, which has seen the Mets, Phillies and Braves continue to bolster what already were playoff rosters with even more talent and even more dollars devoted to payroll.

It’s frustrating, for fans and team employees alike who were hoping for a bit more financial commitment from ownership on the heels of a 107-loss season.

Are the 2023 Nationals as currently constructed any better than the 2022 Nationals were? It sure doesn’t look like it on paper. They might even be worse, hard as that is to believe.

This might be a good time, though, to take a step back and consider what’s really important about the 2023 season. Or, more specifically, who’s really important.

The fate of the 2023 Nats doesn’t rest on the shoulders of Candelario and Williams and the rest of the new guys. Sure, it would be nice if they perform well, and that might make a slight difference in the standings. But probably not that much.

Even if Mike Rizzo had been given the green light to spend more this winter, he wasn’t going to be adding the kind of players who would dramatically alter the fortunes of the team next season. How many more wins would a big power bat in left field provide? Or a more accomplished starting pitcher?

Let’s face it: Whatever success or failure the Nationals experience in 2023 will be the byproduct of the performances of the young potential building blocks they already have on the roster.

If MacKenzie Gore, Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray combine to make 75 starts and look like legitimate big league starters, the rotation will no longer be the weakest link on the roster. It doesn’t have to go from worst-in-the-majors to best-in-the-majors overnight. It just needs to be better, to be competent, to offer a glimmer of hope for the future.

If CJ Abrams and Luis García establish themselves as the Nationals’ middle infield for years to come, if Abrams plays an elite shortstop and shows he can hit near the top of the lineup on a daily basis, if García cuts down on his mistakes in the field and takes some more pitches out of the zone, the positive differences will be obvious to the naked eye.

If Keibert Ruiz withstands the rigors of a full season behind the plate, learns how to call a better game with experience and adds a little more power to his already advanced swing, this team will know it has no worries at the catching position for the first time in a while.

If Joey Meneses can prove he’s even 75 percent of the hitter he was in August and September, if Lane Thomas can avoid weeks-long slumps, if Victor Robles can just hit a little bit while continuing to play an excellent center field, the lineup will have depth.

And if Kyle Finnegan, Hunter Harvey, Carl Edwards Jr., Mason Thompson, Andres Machado and Ramirez can do something resembling what they did last year, the bullpen will continue to be a real strength and put the team in position to win close games late.

That’s what will determine if the Nationals can win more games in 2023 than they did in 2022. And, more importantly, if they’re positioned to win even more games than that in 2024, at which point the general manager perhaps will be given the green light by current or future ownership to pursue bigger-name free agents.

None of that is going to make this offseason any easier for anyone to embrace. But if it all results in a 10-game improvement in the standings and the solidification of a young core worthy of a future contender, it will be a whole lot easier to accept come October.