PLAYER REVIEW: TRES BARRERA

Age on opening day 2023: 28

How acquired: Sixth-round pick, 2016 draft

MLB service time: 172 days

2022 salary: $700,000

PLAYER REVIEW: ALEX CALL

Age on opening day 2023: 28

How acquired: Claimed off waivers from Guardians, August 2022

MLB service time: 74 days

2022 salary: $700,000

The finalists for the Rawlings Gold Glove Awards were announced Thursday afternoon, and wouldn’t you know it, the Nationals had two representatives.

Well, 1 ½, you could say.

Victor Robles and Juan Soto (who is also representing the Padres) were named finalists in the National League in center field and right field, respectively. It is the second time they have been named finalists, with the former teammates both earning the honor in 2019 (Soto in left field).

Robles’ nomination makes sense. His 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and he recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists. As discussed on Wednesday, he was by far the best defensive player on a Nats team that struggled in the field.

Soto, on the other hand, raises some eyebrows.

PLAYER REVIEW: RILEY ADAMS

Age on opening day 2023: 26

How acquired: Traded from Blue Jays for Brad Hand, July 2021

MLB service time: 1 year, 49 days

2022 salary: $706,700

One current Nationals outfielder and one former Nationals outfielder were named Gold Glove Award finalists this afternoon, with Victor Robles and Juan Soto sharing that distinction despite no longer being teammates.

Robles is a finalist among National League center fielders, joining the Padres’ Trent Grisham and Diamondbacks’ Alek Thomas. Soto is a finalist among NL right fielders, joining the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts and the Diamondbacks’ Daulton Varsho.

Gold Glove Awards are selected via a combination of analytics and a vote among managers and coaches, all of which are submitted prior to the end of the regular season. The top three finishers at each position in each league are considered finalists, with the winners set to be announced Nov. 1, prior to Game 4 of the World Series.

This is the second time Robles has been named a finalist, coming three years after his breakthrough rookie season in 2019. He stands a good chance of winning this time, given the fact his 12 Defensive Runs Saved led all NL center fielders and ranked behind only the Royals’ Michael A. Taylor (another former teammate) and the Guardians’ Myles Straw among all major leaguers at his position.

Robles also recorded an NL-high seven outfield assists, though he was charged with six errors (also an NL-high).

Nationals fans are seeing something very familiar this October. It just might sting because it’s happening with a National League East rival.

Bryce Harper is once again putting on a show during the postseason. Only this time, he’s doing it with the Phillies in his first trip to the postseason with his new team since signing a then-record 13-year, $330 million deal before the 2019 season.

Finally healthy and with a strong supporting cast around him, Harper helped the Phillies reach their first postseason since 2011. He hit a go-ahead solo home run in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Cardinals to seal a sweep over St. Louis and the first playoff series win of his career. He went 8-for-16 in the National League Division Series against the defending world champion Braves, including a home run apiece in Games 3 and 4 at Citizens Bank Park, to help the Phillies advance in four games to their first National League Championship Series since 2010.

Entering Tuesday at the start of NLCS and before the conclusion of the Guardians-Yankees American League Division Series, Harper led this postseason (among players who have played in at least four games) with a 1.437 OPS, .957 slugging percentage, .435 average, 10 hits, six extra-base hits and 22 total bases. He was also tied for first with three doubles and three home runs, second with six RBIs, tied for third with six runs scored, and fourth with a .480 on-base percentage.

Over the first two games in the NLCS against the Padres, he has gone 3-for-8 with a go-ahead home run in Game 1 and a multi-hit game with a double in Game 2. He has also scored a run in each game.

Davey Martinez knew what he was getting into during the 2022 season, his fifth as manager of the Nationals. In the first full year of the Nats’ rebuild, he wouldn’t have the most talented roster in the major leagues and they wouldn’t win a lot of games. But he at least expected his players to give their best efforts and make fundamental plays every night.

The effort was always there. The same cannot be said about the fundamentals.

It was a roster filled with inexperienced players and journeyman veterans during a season in which development was the focus. Still, it seemed like the Nationals too often had difficulty with even the most basic plays, especially on defense and on the basepaths. Common signs of a rebuilding team.

The Nationals finished the season with a -39 defensive rating and -47 defensive runs saved as a team, both second-worst in the majors per FanGraphs. However, they did fare slightly better in ultimate zone rating, another widely used defensive metric, at -8.8, which ranked 21st in the majors.

So how can the Nats improve defensively in 2023? Aside from the obvious solutions of practicing in spring training, making routine plays, acquiring better defenders to fill out the roster and perhaps even pitching better, they could benefit simply by players playing in their proper positions for the majority of the season.

PLAYER REVIEW: KEIBERT RUIZ

Age on opening day 2023: 24

How acquired: Traded from Dodgers with Josiah Gray, Donovan Casey and Gerardo Carrillo for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner, July 2021

MLB service time: 1 year, 64 days

2022 salary: $701,300

We always knew the Nationals weren't going to be good this season. We just had no idea how bad it would get, not only in terms of their 55-107 record, but the fact they traded Juan Soto in early August in an attempt to completely revamp their farm system.

Sometimes, it's tougher to predict how a bad season will play out than a good one. That certainly was the case for me and my colleagues on the Nationals beat, who attempted way back on April 7 to guess how things would go this year and in most cases failed miserably.

There were a few spot-on predictions, but plenty more swings and misses, as you'll see below. As has been our tradition since we first made these predictions in 2010, we always come back to revisit them after the season ends, just to show everyone out there how misguided we were all along ...

WHICH NATIONALS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Bobby Blanco (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) - Juan Soto
Jesse Dougherty (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Andrew Golden (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Craig Heist (106.7 The Fan) - Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz
Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) - Keibert Ruiz, Juan Soto
Pete Kerzel (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) - Juan Soto
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto

We know the 2022 season wasn’t a success for the Nationals at the major league level. Was it at least at the minor league level?

It certainly was a season of improvement, not that the organization had anywhere to go but up.

The Nats entered 2021 with the lowest-ranked farm system in baseball according to MLB Pipeline. They moved up from No. 30 to No. 23 entering 2022, thanks to their July trades of Max Scherzer, Trea Turner and others, plus the drafting of Brady House and signing of top Dominican prospect Cristhian Vaquero.

Then came the 2022 trade deadline, and the blockbuster deal that sent Juan Soto and Josh Bell to San Diego for six players, five of whom were among the Padres’ top ranked prospects. That influx of talent, coupled with the drafting of Elijah Green, brought the Nationals’ ranking up to No. 15, the highest this system has been regarded in some time.

“I think our system’s different right now than it was a year ago,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “I think it’s deeper. We’ve had two what I believe are successful trade deadline acquisition periods. We’ve had two successful drafts. We’ve done a good job in the international market. I think that our prospect depth is as good as it’s ever been here in the organization, and I think that the upside of our prospect list is probably the highest it’s ever been.”

While speaking to reporters in New York a few days ago to wrap up the 2022 regular season, general manager Mike Rizzo said this year was a “disappointment” for the Nationals.

That should be a given after the Nats finished with the worst record in the major leagues at 55-107, setting a new club record for the most losses in a single season.

When we look back on the 2022 Nationals season, we probably won’t do so fondly. There was a lot of bad. But there was also some good. Put them both together and you get a memorable season for better or worse.

Looking at some of the final results, it is mostly bad. As bad as we’ve ever seen in Washington baseball.

At no point during the regular season did the Nationals reach the .500 mark. Their longest winning streak was only three games, which they accomplished five times. Their longest losing streak was nine games from July 7-16. They never swept a series and were swept 12 times. They were shut out 12 times and only shut out their opponents four times. They were walked off five times and only walked off twice, both not coming until September. And they by far had the worst run differential in the majors at -252.

Major League Baseball’s expanded postseason bracket takes center stage for the first time this October. Even without the Nationals involved for the third straight season, it should be an interesting month of playoff baseball.

Instead of two teams playing in each of the Wild Card Games that were used in nine of the last 10 seasons (the shortened 2020 season had eight teams each from the National and American leagues make the playoffs), there are now three wild card teams in each league to complete in the 12-team field.

The 12 teams are placed in a bracket similar to the National Football League’s old 12-team playoff field, with the top two seeds in each league receiving a first-round bye while the Wild Card Series are played. The difference being there is no reseeding after the first round.

Without reseeding in the Division Series, the matchups in the first round are the No. 3 seed hosting the No. 6 seed (winner to play the No. 2 seed) and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed (winner to play the No. 1 seed). This is so the No. 3 seed, the third division winner, cannot match up with the No. 1 seed, the league’s best record, in the second round.

But is this format more beneficial for the lower seeds?

NEW YORK – The worst season in Nationals history ended tonight with another rain delay, another disastrous performance by a starting pitcher and another lopsided loss to a division opponent.

A 9-2 loss to the Mets in Game 162, which began 1 hour and 51 minutes late due to rain, almost felt too appropriate to be true.

It was a fitting conclusion to a miserable season for the Nationals, who finish with a 55-107 record, worst since the franchise arrived in D.C. in 2005.

That includes an abysmal 17-59 record against NL East opponents, a .224 winning percentage that is now the lowest for any major league franchise since divisional play began in 1969, a mark previously held by the 1987 Orioles, who went 18-60 in the AL East for a .231 winning percentage. They were a far more respectable 38-48 against everyone outside the division.

"Our season's over right now, for the players," manager Davey Martinez said. "But the work is just beginning for myself, (general manager Mike Rizzo) and the front office. We've got a lot of work to do. I'm looking forward to this winter, getting things done, and then getting ready for spring training."

NEW YORK – And so we have come to the end of the road. The worst season in Nationals history concludes later this afternoon with one final game against the Mets, who no longer have anything at stake after the Braves clinched the NL East on Tuesday night. New York will host the Padres in a best-of-three Wild Card Series beginning Friday, so Buck Showalter’s only goal today is make sure his team is ready for that assignment.

The Nats limp into the finish line, not only because of their record but because of injuries. They lost CJ Abrams to a jammed left shoulder and Victor Robles to tight right calf during Tuesday’s doubleheader. They’ve already been without Nelson Cruz (left eye infection) for more than two weeks. So Davey Martinez has to piece together his lineup for Game 162 with whatever remaining healthy bodies he still has.

Erick Fedde has the distinct honor of starting the finale. It’s his 27th start of the season, matching his total from 2021. Fedde’s last start here at Citi Field, one month ago, was one of his best of the year: six innings of one-run ball on 101 pitches. He’ll try to duplicate that feat and head home for the winter on a positive note.

Speaking of positive notes: The weather finally looks decent for the first time in a week. It’s still cloudy and windy and cold, but most of the rain appears finally to have cleared out.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at NEW YORK METS
Where: Citi Field
Gametime: 4:10 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Cloudy, 59 degrees, wind 10 mph in from left field

NEW YORK – The Nationals limp into Game 162 of the season with a battered and bruised lineup that won’t include CJ Abrams, Victor Robles or Nelson Cruz.

Abrams and Robles both are sitting after departing games from Tuesday’s doubleheader with injuries. Abrams jammed his left shoulder trying to make a diving catch of a ball at shortstop. Robles felt his right calf tighten up as he ran out a double to deep left field.

Abrams got an MRI this morning, and though he was still waiting for results this afternoon, the rookie said he was feeling better and wasn’t overly concerned about any long-term issue. Robles said his calf still felt a little stiff, so manager Davey Martinez decided not to take a chance with either, even if it means he’s disappointed to write out a depleted lineup card for the final game of the season.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “Plus, some of our younger guys, I wanted to continue to see them play, especially the last game. But unfortunately, that’s sometimes how this game rolls. The good news is that they’re both going to be fine moving forward, and they’ll be ready for spring training.”

Also absent from the lineup again is Cruz, who hasn’t played since Sept. 13 due to a left eye infection that never fully healed to the point the 42-year-old was comfortable facing live pitching for fear of blurry vision.

It’s always tough for a fan base to see their favorite team miss out on the postseason.

For Nationals fans, this is the third straight year without playoff baseball in the District since the team won its first World Series championship back in 2019.

With that being the case, an important question must be asked: Who will Nats fans root for this October?

It’s not a simple question to answer if you’re going to continue being a baseball fan over the next month. Do you root for whole teams or just individual players? Do you root for league or divisional pride, or for anything but that?

The 2022 Major League Baseball postseason is set. In the first year of the new expanded format, six teams each from the American League and National League qualified (three division winners and three wild cards), with the top two seeds earning a first-round bye as the Wild Card Series starts this weekend.

NEW YORK – If the Nationals are able to play both of today’s newly scheduled doubleheader games against the Mets – and based on the forecast, that’s a big if – they will be sending Cory Abbott to the mound to start Game 1 and Paolo Espino to start Game 2.

And if history repeats itself, Abbott and Espino are likely to pitch very well for two or three innings, then struggle mightily after that.

The right-handers have had no trouble retiring opposing hitters once per game this season. Abbott, when facing a hitter for the first time within a game (either as a starter or reliever) has held the opposition to a miniscule .165 batting average and .576 OPS. Espino’s numbers in the same situation: a .235 batting average and .645 OPS.

The problems arise when they have to face those same hitters a second or third time. In those situations, opponents are batting .324 with a 1.133 OPS against Abbott and .340 with a .958 OPS against Espino.

At the moment, there’s not much the Nationals can do about it. They’ve needed both Abbott and Espino to start down the stretch, and Davey Martinez has no choice but to try to get as many innings as he can out of each.

The Nationals were never really in contention for the postseason this year. They were officially eliminated from playoff contention earlier this month, sealing their third straight season without playing in October since the 2019 World Series championship.

But they have been able to play a role in the upcoming postseason by playing against teams still fighting for a division crown or wild card spot.

Twenty-five of the Nationals’ last 31 games to end the season would have come against playoff-hopeful teams by the end of the three-game series against the Mets that starts at Citi Field tonight. Of those 25 games, 19 are going to be against National League East rivals.

The Braves and Mets have been locked in a close battle for the NL East title and the No. 2 seed in the National League, which includes a bye of the Wild Card Series. The team that finishes in second will host the three-game Wild Card Series starting Friday.

The Mets just suffered a three-game sweep in Atlanta at the hands of the Braves, relinquishing their once 10 1/2-game lead in the division. The Braves now have a two-game lead in the NL East and a magic number of one to clinch the division crown for the fifth straight year. That means any combination of a Braves win or a Nationals win this week would ensure a wild card spot for the Mets, who are still looking for their first division championship since 2015.

Patrick Corbin’s 2022 season came to a close this afternoon. It was another one with less-than-satisfactory results for the presumptive “ace” of this Nationals staff.

The day started with some confusion and uncertainty. With this game meaning a lot to the Phillies, who entered with a 1/2 game lead over the Brewers for the final National League wild card spot, and bad weather forecasted for most of the day, there was concern that we could be in for a long day at the ballpark.

The Nationals, Phillies and Major League Baseball discussed this morning all possible scenarios, including the idea of starting the game either an hour or 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled 1:35 p.m. start time.

But the weather cleared up enough for Corbin’s first pitch to be thrown as planned. The next question was if they could finish without any delays. They could not, with a rain delay that lasted one hour and 28 minutes before the final result of an 8-1 loss for the Nationals in six innings in front of an announced crowd of 32,789 on a cold and rainy afternoon on South Capitol Street.

“There was like a chance, I think, of a 12:30 p.m. start and then they said we're on time," Corbin said after the game. "It is what it is. Nothing you can really do about it. They tell you the game is going, and you go out there and try to do your best.”

The Nationals, Phillies and Major League Baseball had multiple meetings this morning to discuss the situation and forecast surrounding today’s series finale.

This game is important to the Phillies, who currently own a one-game lead over the Brewers for the final National League wild card. The Brewers are wrapping up a home series against the Marlins today before welcoming the Diamondbacks for three games. The Phillies head to Houston to play the Astros for three games after finishing here, whenever that is.

With rain forecasted all day, there was talk of possibly moving the start time of this game up to 12:30 p.m. and then 1:05 p.m. from the scheduled 1:35 p.m. start, hoping to find a window to play in before the weather gets worse.

There was a light rain at Nationals Park earlier this morning that they could have played through. But then steady rain and strong winds made conditions unplayable on South Capitol Street for a while.

The tarp is being rolled up and players are starting to loosen up in the outfield, so it looks like they are going to try to start on time. Davey Martinez did not speak with the media before the game as he was still in discussions with the Phillies and the league office.