Ladies and gentlemen, the stage has been set for the Washington Nationals’ 2023 regular season! With that, I’m ready to share my preseason analysis and predictions.

I think the team will be marginally better than last year, but the devil is in the details. By the end of the season, we could see them transition from “bad but competitive” to truly respectable, with key building blocks beginning to perform as such.

Let’s start with the build-up to setting the Opening Day roster before diving into predictions. 

Throughout March, the Nationals have made Spring Training roster cuts. Those alterations – though unofficial reports, as opposed to official transactions – culminated this weekend, trimming the roster down to the requisite 26 men.

For the last handful of years, it’s been a foregone conclusion that any time the Nationals unlock a star player, they’re destined to leave the team sooner than anyone who follows the club would prefer to see.

Bryce Harper walked away at the end of his contract. So did Anthony Rendon. Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, and most recently Juan Soto were traded away. Plenty of other talented players left when there were clearly productive seasons still ahead of them, as well.

At last, the franchise might be rewriting the narrative.

MLB Insider Hector Gomez reported this weekend that Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario would be added to the Dominican Republic roster in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Candelario replaces Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays as a first baseman.

We shouldn’t dismiss the honor this is for Candelario. Surely, representing his home country playing the sport he loves has been one of his dreams for a long time.

Still, focusing specifically on how this decision impacts the Washington Nationals, there are pros and cons. The obvious downside is that he’ll be away from the team. However, I’d argue this announcement is more beneficial than detrimental for the Nationals.

Washington’s fans got their wish – although not under the best of circumstances.

After Derek Hill suffered a hamstring injury in the third inning while running to first base, top prospect James Wood made his much-anticipated Spring Training debut in Wednesday ‘s game against the Yankees.

This wasn’t overly surprising. Wood was bound to see the field at some point during big league camp, and he was listed on Wednesday’s lineup card as part of the Nationals’ traveling roster.

Still, the extended look Wood received offered an exciting glimpse into the future.

Corey Dickerson

I often find myself fascinated by what sports fans value in constructing a roster. Sometimes they prefer veterans who have seen success in the past, but have struggled recently. In other situations, they’ll talk themselves into unproven prospects who appear to have solid ability, but have seemingly limited upsides.

In Washington, the conversation surrounding left field seems to have taken on a life if its own. Should it be 34-year-old Corey Dickerson’s job to lose, or would turning to a less proven player in his late 20s be more worthwhile?

It’s a topic I introduced in my piece addressing the top five spring storylines, but it’s proven to be worth doubling down on.

Dickerson has been a decent but unspectacular hitter and defensive liability for his entire career, whereas Alex Call and Stone Garrett have succeeded everywhere they’ve been but not reached the majors in a limited capacity until last season.

Which of those two archetypes should the Nationals be chasing this spring?

MacKenzie Gore Will Start For The Nationals Today

Identifying storylines that matter during Spring Training isn’t easy. It’s a ramp-up period for players, during which their statistical production isn’t very important.

Yet for some players, performance during Spring Training can make or break their role on the team – or even determine whether they make the roster.

In many ways, that reality holds true this year more than most seasons for the Nationals. Although some players – most of whom are young – are guaranteed roles as everyday contributors, there’s a lot of competition up and down the roster this spring.

If you’re searching for something intriguing during what may otherwise seem like a sluggish period, here are the five uncertain areas I think we’ll learn the most about this spring.

Earlier this offseason, the Nationals were caught in the middle of a contract dispute with veteran center fielder Victor Robles. There was an impassioned debate within the fan community regarding whether there was any logical reason to keep Robles.

Although I was in favor of retaining him at an affordable rate (which Washington ended up doing), the larger point – no pun intended – is that it won’t matter after the upcoming season.

Over the weekend, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com interviewed minor league outfield prospects James Wood and Robert Hassell III. Hassell is likely to cement himself in the big leagues beginning in 2024, if not sooner, and Wood has been discussed as a future face of the franchise.

Up to now, Both Hassell and Wood have spent their entire professional careers in center field. That in itself is a luxury, but they’re far from the only minor leaguers of note who can stake that claim.

Wednesday was a big day for teams across Major League Baseball, including the Washington Nationals, as pitchers and catchers reported to camps in Florida and Arizona, and Spring Training rosters were revealed.

Many of the names the Nationals have included and omitted from their spring roster raise some eyebrows – as does some devastating news about star pitcher Stephen Strasburg.

Refresher on the 40-Man Roster

Back in December, the MLB conducted the Rule 5 draft, which ultimately meant two things: a handful of minor leagues were added to the big league roster, and the Nationals drafted a player (right-handed pitcher Thad Ward) from another organization.

All of those players, including Ward, will automatically be invited to big league Spring Training. Unless they’re recovering from a significant injury, all 40 of those players should be reporting to West Palm Beach, FL shortly – if they haven’t already.

Many aspects of Major League Baseball are archaic.

It took a pandemic for the league to realize that fans enjoy teams scoring more runs, as opposed to pitchers trying to hit.

Moving players to where batters hit the ball more frequently is considered “new-age thinking” — and as soon as it began to impede the fabric of the beloved game, the league outlawed it.

So what’s this whole realignment thing about? How could a sport so deeply rooted in tradition rid itself of the rivalries that led to its popularity? And why are the hometown Washington Nationals thrown into this seemingly patchworked Mid-Atlantic division?

In case you hadn’t realized it, the Washington Nationals are a rebuilding franchise.

As a result, they’ve made roster moves over the last couple days to free up roster space for younger players as during next month’s Winter Meetings, the MLB will conduct its Rule 5 draft.

The Nationals will have the No. 1 pick.

Usually an annual tradition, the Rule 5 draft was skipped last season amidst the league’s labor negotiations – the same travesty that resulted in a condensed Spring Training and late start to the regular season. Since the Nationals haven’t selected a player in the Rule 5 draft since 2010 (likely a result of them being playoff contenders for most of the time since, so every roster space was precious), perhaps a crash course on what the Rule 5 draft is might be in order.

Since we’ve hit another point where there isn’t much “news” as I would define it for the Nationals, we’ve opened up the mailbag again.

While ownership-related questions have continued to pop up, we’re pleased to see that there is still interest in Washington’s on-field product. It’s a reminder that even in a season when the team has little hope for anything other than the No. 1 overall draft pick, there are plenty of story lines and reasons to keep tuning in.

Let’s dive into it!

Give us a primer on the MASN deal and the likely paths forward (or lack thereof) – Justin R. (@young_jred on Twitter): We’ll start with this question, since it’s the one that’s been the most on my mind. In fact, I’ve circled around it in some of my recent writing.

Keep in mind that Peter Angelos and the Orioles own the MASN television contract. A new owner would likely ramp up MASN negotiations, but a new owner does not automatically make the contract void.

Enter Ted Leonsis into this discussion.

As we’ve discussed, he and Monumental Sports & Entertainment are acquiring NBC Sports Washington. That’s the network that currently broadcasts (among other programming) Wizards and Capitals games, both of which are franchises that Leonsis owns.