Nats looking to move on
Will they be better without Bryce?
The Nationals appear to have moved on from free agent Bryce Harper, their biggest star the last seven seasons.
They signed Patrick Corbin, a frontend lefty who slots in nicely behind or between Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, as well as Anibal Sanchez, who has still shown he can be dominant at 34, and a serviceable Jeremy Hellickson for the rotation.
They added Brian Dozier, a second baseman with pop, and two above-average catchers in Yan Gomes and Kurt Suzuki (Sanchez’s personal catcher last season with the Braves). Washington also signed experienced bullpen depth in Trevor Rosenthal and Kyle Barraclough behind closer Sean Doolittle.
It already had two outfield prospects in Victor Robles (21) and Juan Soto (20) with All-Star potential.
Is the rotation the NL’s best?
Scherzer is the closest thing to a sure thing as an ace. Strasburg has been that type of pitcher as recently as 2017.
Corbin has had one dominant season (going 11-7 with a 3.15 ERA and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings last season) but it could be he breakout.
No one in the NL — if not the majors — can match that top 3 while Sanchez is as good a No. 4 starter as you’ll find. Hellickson fits nicely into the No. 5 spot while Joe Ross and Erick Fedde provide depth.
— Stephen Borelli