Just Another Reason The Nationals Don’t Get Any Better

The Nationals are a team in complete disarray. Poor management decisions (not trading Soriano at the trade deadline is one that comes to mind), poor scouting, and poor play have plagued this team since their move to Washington from Montreal. The Nationals think they made a step in the right direction by signing big time slugger, Adam Dunn, to a two-year contract worth $20 million. I am taking the other side on this one. The Adam Dunn signing will hurt the team more than it will help.

First of all, Adam Dunn is a proven Major League hitter who has knocked out 40 or more home runs for five years straight. Although he strikes out far too much, he manages to walk a lot to make up for some of those strikeouts. For a .247 career hitter, a .381 on base percentage isn’t too shabby.

The reason I see this signing as a bad decision by the Nationals is the fact that the team doesn’t have top Major League talent. Coming off a 102-loss season, most people would expect the Nationals to be in rebuilding mode (I think they’ve been in rebuilding mode for seven years now). This signing contradicts the rebuilding process. By throwing $20 million out the window, it will be hard for the Nationals to maintain a young core of players. The Nationals were already 5th worst in total team payroll last season, so with a limited amount of money, I think the money should have been saved and spent in other ways.

Winning is baseball comes down to pitching and defense—two things that the Nationals do not possess (five bucks for anyone who can name the five Nationals’ starters this season—even just two for that matter). I believe the Nationals need to concentrate on developing and drafting young arms that can help them down the road. Signing a slugger will help in the short run, but it won’t help this team down the road.

So maybe the Nationals should think about the future instead of bringing in a couple more fans this season. They already play in a tough division where the Phillies and Mets have enough talent to win a World Series. The Nationals need to come up with a plan for the future, and throwing away money on veterans is not the route this team needs to go at this time.

**No money will actually be awarded for guessing the starting rotation. Sorry guys.