Bryce Harper already has a wish list for 2016

FLUSHING, N.Y. - What was a stunningly impressive season for Bryce Harper turned out to be not as satisfying for the the young slugger as the Nationals exchanged handshakes and hugs on Sunday evening without a playoff series to move on to.

"You look back on the year and you wish you were in the postseason," Harper said. "That's the main goal every single year when you start out. It's a bummer that we didn't get there this year. As a team, as an organization, we thought we had one of the best teams in all of baseball.

"I really believe if we come in next year with the mentality and the fire and passion we know how to play with, we'll be one of the best teams to come in next year. We've just got to keep grinding and keep doing what we're doing and have a great offseason and hopefully make a few acquisitions and see where we're at."

The Nationals roster is almost guaranteed to look much different when the team shows up for spring training in four and a half months. Valuable veterans Ian Desmond, Jordan Zimmermann, Denard Span and Doug Fister are all expected to leave for other teams via free agency this offseason, leaving general manager Mike Rizzo with plenty of decisions regarding filling the holes while also figuring out what went wrong with the makeup of this year's team.

"We're gonna hopefully go about it and see what makes us better and makes us a team that clicks," Harper said. "Rizzo does such a great job in the front office. He does a very good job with all the guys he brings in here. We're a family here right now. These guys might not be back here next year."

Numerous injuries to Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Span disrupted the flow of the Nationals lineup and left Harper on an island many nights, therefore not taking full advantage of the monstrous season the 22-year-old was having.

Heading to his fifth season in the majors and coming off what will most likely be his first National League Most Valuable Player Award, Harper already has a wish list for Rizzo.

"The one thing we definitely need is another left-handed bat and hopefully a huge right-handed bat to hit behind me or in front of me," Harper said. "If we can do that, that would definitely help us out and put us up to the top."