Looking at the Nationals' positions of need this winter

The Nationals' biggest offseason need may be in the starting pitching department, but it's far from their only roster need heading into 2019. Between free agent departures and other areas that simply need an upgrade, there's no shortage of items on general manager Mike Rizzo's to-do list this winter.

Let's run through the positions that are likely to be addressed in the coming months ...

CATCHER
It shouldn't have surprised anyone that this was a problem area in 2018, because it was a problem area in 2017 and only one minor change was made between seasons (Jose Lobaton replaced by Miguel Montero as Matt Wieters' season-opening backup). That made little difference, with Montero released after he went 0-for-11.

Wieters, hoping for a bounceback season, suffered a significant hamstring injury in May and wound up missing two months. That opened the door for Pedro Severino to finally get an extended opportunity to play, but the promising prospect struggled mightily (.168 average in 70 games) and was optioned back to Triple-A once Wieters came off the disabled list. Spencer Kieboom, a 27-year-old rookie, impressed the staff with his game-calling abilities, but wasn't much more of a threat at the plate. Wieters, meanwhile, did show improvement down the stretch (.813 OPS over his final 36 games), but not enough to turn the entire season around.

In the end, Nationals catchers finished with a .624 OPS, up a bit from .594 the previous year, but still among the lowest marks in the league. And now with Wieters a free agent, the club again will be in the market for a No. 1 catcher.

Could the Nats choose to re-sign Wieters? It's possible, but they wouldn't be paying him anything close to the $10.5 million he made this year. And they'd need to pair him up with a more accomplished No. 2 catcher.

Who else is available? Yasmani Grandal, Jonathan Lucroy and Wilson Ramos top the list of free agents. And, of course, J.T. Realmuto remains available from the Marlins if the Nationals are willing to part with Victor Robles (and possibly more).

SECOND BASEMAN
Even if they hadn't traded Daniel Murphy to the Cubs on Aug. 21, the Nationals were going to be in the market for a new second baseman this winter because Murphy was going to become a free agent and almost certainly wasn't in the club's long-term plans given his age and legs.

The trade did open the door for Wilmer Difo to get an extended look, but the energetic infielder didn't exactly seize the moment. In 34 games after taking over as the starter, Difo hit .202 with a .294 on-base percentage. He even lost playing time to Adrian Sanchez in the final weeks, hardly a vote of confidence moving forward.

So the Nationals are going to need to address this position over the winter. There may be some sense internally that minor league Player of the Year Carter Kieboom could eventually take the spot, but he's never played second base and has never played above Double-A, so he's probably not ready yet.

The free agent market includes DJ LeMahieu, Brian Dozier, Neil Walker and possibly Josh Harrison (if the Pirates don't pick up his $10.5 million option).

BULLPEN
An offseason has never gone by without the Nationals needing to make some bullpen upgrades, and this offseason will be no different. The good news: They don't need a closer, because they're going to pick up Sean Doolittle's $6 million option and enter 2019 confident the All-Star lefty is healthy again.

But the Nats have holes to fill behind Doolittle. They have some in-house options to take over setup duties (Koda Glover, Justin Miller, Wander Suero, Matt Grace) but you've got to believe they'll want at least one experienced reliever to pitch the eighth inning. They could try to re-sign Greg Holland or Kelvin Herrera (coming off foot surgery), but both could find opportunities to close elsewhere.

The good news is that there are no shortage of capable relievers on the market, including but not limited to: right-handers Cody Allen, Brad Brach, Jeurys Familia, Craig Kimbrel, Adam Ottavino and David Robertson; and lefties Zach Britton, Boone Logan, Andrew Miller and Justin Wilson.

BACKUP FIRST BASEMAN
The Nationals once again would like to find a left-handed complement to Ryan Zimmerman, who was quite productive when healthy, but wasn't healthy enough to avoid needing a left-handed complement. Adam Lind filled the role nicely in 2017, and Matt Adams did likewise this year until he was traded to the Cardinals. Someone in that same mold would be ideal for 2019.

Could Adams return? It's possible. He enjoyed his time in D.C., and he should remain affordable (though he may want to pursue a place that can guarantee more starts). Lucas Duda and Logan Morrison (who would become available if the Twins decline his $8 million option) are other potential targets.

Notes: The Nationals are not renewing the contract of Bob Miller, who served as their assistant general manager the last four years. Miller, who originally worked with Mike Rizzo with the Diamondbacks before moving to the Reds, held a prominent role in the Nats front office, taking the lead on contracts, transactions and communication with the commissioner's office, and made most road trips with the club.

Anthony Rendon was named the team's nominee for this year's Hank Aaron Award, which honors the best offensive player in each league. Fans can submit their vote here.