Most significant stories of 2024: Last pieces from 2019 gone

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2024. We begin the series today looking back at the departures of the final pieces from the 2019 World Series championship team …

The revolving door had been turning since that glorious night in Houston on Oct. 30, 2019. The roster that helped the Nationals clinch their first World Series championship in franchise history would never be assembled again. But that didn’t mean pieces couldn’t linger.

Players – both of the utmost importance and those who were along for the ride – stayed around in the years since. That was until this year when, finally, the last pieces of that championship squad departed D.C.

The first to leave in 2024 was the World Series MVP, Stephen Strasburg. After a convoluted and confusing path to get there, the 36-year-old officially retired on April 6, months after plans were already in place to announce the end of his career due to complications from thoracic outlet syndrome.

The hold-up? The money still owed Strasburg, who only pitched 31 ⅓ innings in three years after the World Series, from the seven-year, $245 million extension he signed in December 2019. He was still owed $100 million over the next three years.

The Nationals wanted to alter those terms. Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras, didn’t.

So there was an eight-month standstill between legend and club, during which Strasburg stayed on the 60-day injured list while taking up a 40-man roster spot. The sides finally reached an agreement about a week after Opening Day, but some tension remained between the two parties.

The Nationals celebrated the five-year anniversary of their lone championship later that month when the Astros came to town. Many key figures from that team returned to Nats Park throughout the week. Strasburg was not one of them.

But that’s not to say Strasburg’s day at Nats Park will never come. At some point, the franchise icon should be recognized and have his number retired, much like Ryan Zimmerman in 2022.

“He's part of the furniture here,” said general manager Mike Rizzo after Strasburg’s retirement became official. “He always will be and always has been. We just want him to be happy and for this thing to work out the way it did. So to me, it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of just when we can get this thing finished.”

The next 2019 piece to leave was Victor Robles in late May. Entering the final year of his contract and with top outfield prospects breathing down his neck in the minors, Robles knew he had to make 2024 his best season since the World Series.

But as was the case for much of his time since 2019, Robles’ season was derailed by injuries and mistakes. The 27-year-old outfielder landed on the injured list on April 4 with a left hamstring strain. Then when he returned to the lineup five weeks later, he made costly errors (dropping a routine fly ball and getting caught in a rundown to end a scoring threat) in a 3-2 loss to the Red Sox to drop a three-game set at Fenway Park.

Two weeks later, the Nats designated Robles for assignment to make room for Lane Thomas’ activation off the injured list, and the outfielder’s 11-year tenure with the organization was done.

“It was definitely emotional,” said manager Davey Martinez, who had managed Robles since 2018. “Those are always the toughest days, when you have to lose a player. Especially a guy like Vic, who I've known for many, many years and helped us win a World Series. It was tough. It was really tough. All I could tell him is I wish him the best and to keep going.”

The last two departures wouldn’t come until the end of the season.

Patrick Corbin’s six-year, $140 million contract expired at season’s end, making the World Series Game 7 winning pitcher a free agent.

After an impressive first season in Washington, the last five were nothing more than disappointments. He pitched to a 5.62 ERA in his 137 subsequent starts since the World Series, statistically one of the worst pitchers in the sport.

But he left a lasting impression on the Nats clubhouse and, of course, a championship pennant.

“These last six years have gone by fairly quickly looking back now,” Corbin said after his final start for the Nats uniform. “But I enjoyed every second of it. I don't regret anything. I enjoyed my time here. And obviously to win a World Series, start a family and get to meet all you guys, it was great. I really enjoyed it all. I got to meet a lot of people. … But like I said, I wouldn't take anything back. It's been great. Learned a lot. Highs and lows. But I loved every second of it.”

Then in late November, the Nationals decided to non-tender Tanner Rainey (and closer Kyle Finnegan), cutting ties with the last remaining player from their 2019 roster.

The Nats were very patient with Rainey after his August 2022 Tommy John surgery. The right-hander struggled to regain his velocity and was relegated to only low-leverage situations out of the bullpen.

Even a strong finish to this season (2.14 ERA and 1.000 WHIP in his final 21 appearances) wasn’t enough to convince the Nats to keep Rainey, who was due to earn about $1.9 million in his last season before free agency.

In the end, the final four roster pieces connecting the current Nationals to their greatest team departed.

There are still some connections on the coaching staff in Martinez, Sean Doolittle and Gerardo Parra. But the next Nats player to have a connection to a championship is going to have to win it from here on out.

“Hopefully in the near future, it can happen to these guys here and they can experience that,” said Corbin. “Because that's something you'll never forget.”