Will Nats try to acquire lineup protection for Soto?

Despite appearing in only 47 of the Nationals' 60 games this season, Juan Soto reached base an astounding 96 times, fifth-most in the majors.

Soto only scored 39 runs, however, which ranked 19th in baseball.

That's still good. But not as good as it could've been. Soto was historically good at the plate in 2020, but the Nats didn't take full advantage of that fact.

Why? Because they couldn't consistently put a top-notch hitter behind Soto in their lineup. Only 17 times this year did Howie Kendrick bat directly behind Soto. The most common lineup protection for Soto? Asdrúbal Cabrera, who did it 24 times. The rest of the bunch: Yadiel Hernández (three times), Kurt Suzuki (twice) and Eric Thames (once).

Soto didn't think much of it when Kendrick went down a hamstring injury. Then he saw the tangible result of the veteran's absence and realized what it actually meant.

"It's really different to have Howie Kendrick behind me," the 21-year-old slugger said. "At the beginning of the year, I didn't know how different it is. My hitting coach would tell me: 'Hey, you need Howie right there behind you.' I didn't expect that. I was like: 'They're going to still pitch to me.' And then I realized they walked me intentionally a lot of times. And then I said: 'All right, I need somebody behind me.'"

Yes, he does. And the Nationals' top priority this winter might be acquiring someone to fill that huge void that currently exists in their lineup.

The 2019 Nats lineup was so fearsome and so effective because of the potent three-four combo of Anthony Rendon and Soto. But it also required the consistent protection and production from the guys who hit fifth and sixth, typically Kendrick and either Cabrera, Suzuki or Ryan Zimmerman.

That protection was sorely lacking this season, and it showed as the schedule played out. Soto was intentionally walked only once in July and August. Then, as Kendrick went down for good with his injury and Cabrera faded after a red-hot start, opponents decided to avoid Soto as much as possible. They issued him 11 intentional walks over a 16-game stretch in September, leaving him with a major league-high 12 overall.

Though he finished the season batting third, Soto opened it batting cleanup in Davey Martinez's lineup, behind Trea Turner, Adam Eaton and Starlin Castro. What followed after that was not impressive. The Nationals' No. 5 hitters this year produced a collective .692 OPS, which ranked 22nd in the majors. Their .358 slugging percentage ranked 26th.

So, is it fair to say this team is going to seriously pursue another big bat this winter, someone who can slot in behind Turner and Soto and bring some much-needed protection for the big boys? Mike Rizzo wasn't quite willing to publicly admit that.

"I think we have the beginnings of putting together a very good, very long, very talented lineup," the general manager said. "That's not to say that we don't need to be supplemented from an outside source, or maybe a trade scenario to put us in a better position. We've got three or four very good young players that we hope take the next step forward. We saw a couple of them take a side step this year, but we're still very optimistic about the good, young core group of guys that we have. And we think that with a full offseason and a full spring training, I think we are going to see our young group of core guys take the next step that they need to take for us to be successful."

Who would the Nationals turn to if they don't go outside the organization? Martinez has long liked Castro as a middle-of-the-lineup hitter, and believes the veteran second baseman will return strong from a broken hand. One or more of the soon-to-be free agents Kendrick, Zimmerman and Cabrera could be re-signed as well.

But none of those options would be viewed in the same vein as a premier free agent acquisition.

There are several big bats due to hit the market this winter: Marcell Ozuna, George Springer, J.T. Realmuto, Justin Turner, Michael Brantley.

Can the Nationals emerge with someone from that group? If they don't, Soto might just find himself taking even more intentionally free passes to first base in 2021.