Speaker 1: But obviously CJ he to all start first half, and
Speaker 1: I just want to see, you know, can he turn
Speaker 1: that into a full seasons worth of production. But I
Speaker 1: think obviously, you know, as you're getting just getting ad
Speaker 1: justed as a young player, it takes some time to
Speaker 1: figure out how teams are pitching you.
Speaker 2: Here we go. Andrew Golden writes for The Washington Post,
Speaker 2: joins us right now for the first time on FT
Speaker 2: to review the Washington Nationals coming up for the twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five season. Andrew, great to have you on here
Speaker 2: for the first time. Appreciate you, stop and buy. How
Speaker 2: you doing good?
Speaker 3: How y'all doing I'm looking forward to talking with you guys.
Speaker 3: I'm excited.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's too. Let's rip through this all right, So
Speaker 2: let's hit the storylines and we'll jump right into what
Speaker 2: we want to get into with the Nats and then
Speaker 2: some bonus questions after that. Cool, here's your review twenty
Speaker 2: twenty five Washington Nationals storylines. That the huest homers in
Speaker 2: the NL in twenty twenty four, they had a little thump.
Speaker 3: Is it enough?
Speaker 2: Especially with the core that they'll have for a full
Speaker 2: season now too? Like James Wood and Dylan Cruz next
Speaker 2: step for the core like c J Abrams, James Wood
Speaker 2: and Dylan Cruz. We'll get to that and bullpen questions. No,
Speaker 2: Kyle Finnegan, not a ton of work. Actually, some other
Speaker 2: subtractions we can get into as well this offseason. Are
Speaker 2: we okay with that? And the NL Beast three really
Speaker 2: really good teams that they're looking at as competition in
Speaker 2: the division.
Speaker 3: All right, So let's start at the top.
Speaker 2: This team didn't have enough pop last year, and we
Speaker 2: thought they should have gone after Pete Linz or at
Speaker 2: least I'll speak for me and Kratz agrees. I know
Speaker 2: Prazinski agrees. I'm sure Todd Father agrees as well. But
Speaker 2: what did you think of what they did this offseason
Speaker 2: to put the offense in a better chance to thump?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I think that was the big question.
Speaker 1: It's been the big question for the past couple of
Speaker 1: all seasons, is how can they add more power their lineup?
Speaker 1: They sign a lot of guys to one year deals,
Speaker 1: but what they sign a guy to a longer term
Speaker 1: deal to kind of get some more thump. It's their lineup.
Speaker 1: Pete Longso was a guy that was kind of interesting.
Speaker 1: I also was kind of into a Christian Walker too,
Speaker 1: and that was another guy I kind of liked.
Speaker 3: But I think they did a good job in.
Speaker 1: Terms of training for Nathaniel Lowe adding Josh Bell, and
Speaker 1: as you guys mentioned, they're kind of hoping for improvements
Speaker 1: from James Wind Dylan Cruz to kind of add some
Speaker 1: power there. But I think they did a good job overall.
Speaker 1: Like I think Josh Bell depends on which Josh Bell
Speaker 1: you're getting. Obviously he could be kind of streaky. If
Speaker 1: you're getting the Josh Bell that he was when he
Speaker 1: was last in DC, that's a really really good player.
Speaker 1: Nathaniel low obviously when he was with the Rangers two
Speaker 1: years ago, I think twenty six horns, I want to
Speaker 1: say twenty seven. He said he wants to get back
Speaker 1: to this offseason, and so I think they'll definitely increase
Speaker 1: their power just just with those guys alone.
Speaker 5: Very nice. Now let's talk about the young core right
Speaker 5: here for the National c j Abrams had an All
Speaker 5: Star year marred by basically the suspension as we know,
Speaker 5: and you know it was a rough second half. Now
Speaker 5: talking about James Wood and Dylan Cruise, are these guys
Speaker 5: gonna step up here? They just got their feet wet
Speaker 5: a little bit. Talk a little about the you know,
Speaker 5: the young guys coming up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm excited to see what they all can do,
Speaker 1: especially James and Dill. And I think the two of
Speaker 1: them are definitely getting their feet with last year. You
Speaker 1: looked at James like he was kind of getting feel
Speaker 1: for what the big leagues were like, and you still
Speaker 1: produced at the high level. And then Dylan had that
Speaker 1: final month to kind of get his feet wet as well.
Speaker 1: He showed you could really hit fast ball as well,
Speaker 1: struggle with breaking balls a little bit. So I'm interested
Speaker 1: to see how he adjusts there. And James to the
Speaker 1: ball on the ground a little bit more last year,
Speaker 1: so I'm kind of interested to.
Speaker 3: See how he adjusts.
Speaker 1: And they obviously CJ he'd an all start first half, and
Speaker 1: I just want to see, you know, can he turn
Speaker 1: that into a full season's worth of production. But I
Speaker 1: think obviously, you know, as you're getting just getting adjusted
Speaker 1: as a young player, it takes some time to figure
Speaker 1: out how teams are pitching you and kind of how
Speaker 1: you adapt and adjust.
Speaker 3: I'm expecting a big year for all those three, especially CJ.
Speaker 3: This is his third.
Speaker 1: Full season with the Nationals, and so I'm expecting a
Speaker 1: big year for him.
Speaker 4: The that's non tendered, they're all star closer Cal Finnigan.
Speaker 4: Now there's names, there's names like recently signed or Helo
Speaker 4: pet and Jose Ferrera. Where's this closing innings gonna come from?
Speaker 3: Because it's a huge part of a bullpen. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So they just signed Colin Proche to a minor league
Speaker 1: deal this morning, so I think that will definitely help.
Speaker 1: But yeah, Kyle, I think it was interesting, right, Like,
Speaker 1: I think there was a question of do you sign
Speaker 1: him to eight nine million dollars to be your closer
Speaker 1: or do you reallocate those resources for free agents.
Speaker 3: I think they decided to do that.
Speaker 1: I think the big question was if they knew they
Speaker 1: were going to non tender Kyle, why not trade him
Speaker 1: at the deadline?
Speaker 3: That was my big question.
Speaker 1: But I think they're just expecting their their young guys
Speaker 1: to kind of take a step forward. I look, Zach
Speaker 1: Brickse's a guy could take a step forward. They're getting
Speaker 1: Mason Thompson back from Tommy Johns. That might take some time.
Speaker 1: They have Derek Law who can definitely help on the
Speaker 1: back end. He was a late inning reliever last year,
Speaker 1: so they have some pieces, but they're definitely young. I
Speaker 1: think it's the big biggest question mark for them hanging
Speaker 1: to the season. So your guests as good as mine,
Speaker 1: mixtic kind of interesting to see how it all plays out,
Speaker 1: but I think Colin Poste and Jorge Lopez will definitely
Speaker 1: beat the back end.
Speaker 3: I think Jose Ferrero took a big step forward and
Speaker 3: other guys with to fill in.
Speaker 5: Now we got to talk about the team wise. Here
Speaker 5: they were fourteen and twenty five against the NL East
Speaker 5: gauntlet of a schedule. They're playing against some of the
Speaker 5: best teams Atlanta and New York Mets and the Braves.
Speaker 5: How are they going to do this year coming up
Speaker 5: knowing that they got to face these guys again with
Speaker 5: the guys that they picked up, how will they how
Speaker 5: will they do against this team and how will they
Speaker 5: stack up in the NL East.
Speaker 1: That's kind of the big question right when I look
Speaker 1: at their offseason, I think they've actually had a really
Speaker 1: good offseason, but can they kind of compete against the guys?
Speaker 1: Actually last year against the Braves, they had a wing
Speaker 1: record against the Braves and performed pretty well, So it's
Speaker 1: mainly the Mets and the Phillies, who have both gotten better,
Speaker 1: and the Braves are obviously gonna be the Braves, and
Speaker 1: so I'm interested to see, like can they hit and
Speaker 1: kit for enough power to kind of compete with some
Speaker 1: of those teams.
Speaker 3: I'm not really sure. Like I think the Mets got better.
Speaker 1: I think the Phillies are just as good, not bad
Speaker 1: than they were last year, And the Braves are the
Speaker 1: same thing. And so I think they can serve because
Speaker 1: they prove they can compete against the Braves. But I
Speaker 1: don't know about the Phillies and the Mets and the Brazs.
Speaker 1: Obviously as they get stridered back. They obviously still Chris Sale.
Speaker 1: They obviously have that great lineup, and so we'll see
Speaker 1: if they can replicate that again like they did last year.
Speaker 4: So ownership holding this team back is ownership holding the
Speaker 4: team back from like really pursuing, like we said, like
Speaker 4: that Alex Bragman, that kind of Jason Worth from two
Speaker 4: thousand and eleven or twenty twelve type of contract with
Speaker 4: Pete Alonzo, that type of thing.
Speaker 1: I think they're definitely were some talks that they're limited
Speaker 1: in terms of what they was spent maybe compared to
Speaker 1: a decade to go, and so I think there are
Speaker 1: some limitations there in terms of how much they're willing
Speaker 1: to spend. I also know that Mike Rizzo also talks
Speaker 1: about not wanting to hand out contracts. They guys are
Speaker 1: qualifying offers because they really care a lot about their
Speaker 1: draft picks, especially restocking their farm system. But I definitely
Speaker 1: agree that I think that it's going to be harder
Speaker 1: for them to to compete if they are't willing to
Speaker 1: spend the way they were a decade to go. I
Speaker 1: think given the mass and the hold up and all
Speaker 1: those different things, I think there are some limitations in
Speaker 1: terms of how much they can spend.
Speaker 4: Does it revolve around the possibility of the team being sold?
Speaker 4: I know, the whole mass and stuff, the whole masson
Speaker 4: stuff's been going on for longer than you've been alive, Andrew,
Speaker 4: Like that stuff's been ever since there was a Nationals there.
Speaker 4: You know, there wasn't an Andrew Golden Now there's you know,
Speaker 4: no more massive issue. But the sale. Do you feel
Speaker 4: like some of the possibility of it being sold?
Speaker 1: I know my colleague Barriers for Luga wrote a couple
Speaker 1: of weeks ago that Ted le Jones was kind of
Speaker 1: the front runner, but he hadn't made an offer this offseason.
Speaker 1: But I think that's kind of going to be lingering
Speaker 1: over the team. And I think there'll always be a
Speaker 1: question right like are they waiting for the right price?
Speaker 3: Will they get the right prices?
Speaker 1: I think that also is always gonna be lingering over
Speaker 1: and definitely a question of will they sell the team,
Speaker 1: will they get the right price?
Speaker 3: But for now they're not.
Speaker 1: They're going to operate if they still have the team,
Speaker 1: and you know, it's a matter of are they willing
Speaker 1: to make the financial investments necessary to take this team
Speaker 1: the next level?
Speaker 2: Andrew run more free. From my side, how are we
Speaker 2: feeling about third base for the team short term and
Speaker 2: long term? It seems like they're trying to leave a
Speaker 2: little bit of a lane long term for Brady House.
Speaker 2: I'm okay with that, but on the short term it's
Speaker 2: disappointing because I feel like this team could have made
Speaker 2: more of a surprise as a contender in the National
Speaker 2: League for a wild card spot if the lineup looked
Speaker 2: a little more whole. I like parts of it in
Speaker 2: the top half, but I mean, you tell me, right,
Speaker 2: Now for the projected lineup pose EIGHTEENA. Is there is
Speaker 2: that good enough for a playoff team.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 1: I think Jose ten or Trey Lipscomb, I think are
Speaker 1: the two options for third base. But I think the
Speaker 1: key for them is they don't want to block prospects,
Speaker 1: and they've repeated that a handful of times this offseason,
Speaker 1: and so I think Brady's gonna get every chance to
Speaker 1: try to get that if he can perform well.
Speaker 3: Another guy like is Kayden Wallace.
Speaker 1: They traded him or they acquired him in the Hunter
Speaker 1: Harvey trade last year, and he's a guy they like.
Speaker 3: We haven't really seen him because he was injured.
Speaker 1: Hit a rib injury and they didn't play in the
Speaker 1: Arison the Fall League, and so those are two guys
Speaker 1: who I think could be third base prospects. He just
Speaker 1: a matter of if how do they perform this year. I
Speaker 1: think Brady House has some questions. I seen him drop
Speaker 1: all some prospect list was kind of interesting. Maybe that's
Speaker 1: prospect fatigue, maybe that is legitimate questions. But I think
Speaker 1: they want to give Brady every opportunity to be the
Speaker 1: third base in the future, but he has to perform,
Speaker 1: and so I'm interested to see how that plays out.
Speaker 1: Does Brady take the step forward? Maybe just Kaden Walls
Speaker 1: take the step forward. But I definitely think it's a question.
Speaker 1: But they don't want to block any prospects, and so
Speaker 1: they're leaving it open.
Speaker 2: Okay, we'll see. I mean depth is important, and yeah, House,
Speaker 2: you know, I don't know enough to make a comment yet.
Speaker 2: I haven't seen enough of him. I do know I
Speaker 2: had a down year, so that's probably why he fell
Speaker 2: off some list, or at least.
Speaker 3: He's also a young drop. I think it's I think
Speaker 3: it's like twenty one.
Speaker 1: He's young, so maybe give us some time, you know,
Speaker 1: but it is interesting, it's interesting for sure.
Speaker 3: That is fair. That is fair.
Speaker 2: I think you are too right your early twenties.
Speaker 3: I'm twenty five, twenty five, not as young as Brady.
Speaker 3: There you go, there you go, probly great world. Also
Speaker 3: exactly exactly well.
Speaker 2: When I was twenty five, I looked twelve, and social
Speaker 2: media let me know about it almost every day when
Speaker 2: I was on television, so the beard definitely helped. I
Speaker 2: wasn't allowed to do that back then. But Andrew, great job,
Speaker 2: great to have you on here. Man, Really appreciate the time.
Speaker 2: We'll do it again. We'll have you on during the
Speaker 2: season and we'll talk soon.
Speaker 3: Sounds good man, Thanks for having me on.