Former Cy Young-Contending Ace Predicted To Be Signed by Washington Nationals

The starting rotation for the Washington Nationals was filled with young players at the end of the season after the front office decided to turn things over to their talented prospects.

When factoring in where this franchise currently sits regarding their rebuild, it made perfect sense for them to get their future cornerstones experience at the Major League level even if that came with some struggles.

Heading into the offseason, there are two directions the organization can take.

They can spend money like owner Mark Lerner is willing to do if general manager Mike Rizzo thinks that's what is necessary at this phase, or they can also do what they did last year by continuing to play young players to give them more experience.

It's an interesting decision either way.

Since it's been a while that Nationals fans have seen their team be competitive, at some point, they would like this group to start winning games on a consistent basis, however, spending money for the sake of it when they aren't ready to win the NL East based on the status of their division rivals, also could hurt the development of this roster moving forward.

Still, Washington likely will look to bring in some free agents, especially in areas of need.

With their starting rotation having some question marks despite all the star youngsters on the roster, Bennett Lehmann of District on Deck thinks they will land former Cy Young-contending ace Jack Flaherty.

"The 29-year-old righty undoubtedly will not be cheap, as he has made himself a lot of money this year by bouncing back in a big way from his subpar 2023 season ... I do think that the Nationals could easily be outbid for Flaherty, but if they want to get a front line member of the rotation, they're going to have to pay up," he wrote.

There's no doubt Flaherty's performance this season earned himself some money.

Coming off a disappointing showing with the Baltimore Orioles following their trade deadline acquisition of him in 2023, the right-hander signed a one-year prove-it deal with the Detroit Tigers this past winter.

After posting a 2.95 ERA across his 18 starts, the Tigers shipped him to the Los Angeles Dodgers ahead of this season's deadline where he has been exactly what they needed with four earned runs allowed in two playoff starts, striking out eight batters over his 12.1 innings pitched.

Adding someone of his caliber would be an interesting move for the Nationals.

He would give Washington and ace-caliber arm to pair with Mackenzie Gore as the other young stars in their rotation continue to develop and gain experience.

This would be a great short-term deal and something the front office should seriously consider.