The difference a year makes. From one year to the next, roster purging turns over nearly 50 percent from the 40-man roster. Some names from these purges become trivia answers down the road on Immaculate Grid when you pull a Washington Nationals player like Rick Short for a question on a Nats’ hitter with a career .400 batting average.
Are you going to remember that Sauryn Lao, who pitched six games in a Nats’ uniform, was on the Nats’ roster on November 1 of last year or even Jake Eder who is one of many players who never appeared in an MLB game for the team?
Here are those 18 players still on the roster today and nearly a year later (sorted alphabetically):
CJ Abrams, Andrew Alvarez, Clayton Beeter, Cade Cavalli, Andres Chaparro, Dylan Crews, Josiah Gray, DJ Herz, Brady House, Jake Irvin, Daylen Lile, Brad Lord, Drew Millas, Nasim Nunez, Orlando Ribalta, Keibert Ruiz, James Wood, and Jacob Young.
Add 22 more names to those 18 and you have the current 40-man roster. How many will remain a year from now? Here are those 22 names (sorted alphabetically): Jake Bird, Riley Cornelio, Yovanny Cruz, Will Dion, Connelly Early, Harry Ford, Nate Furman, Jackson Kent, Yohandy Morales, Kyle Nicolas, Abimelec Ortiz, Carson Palmquist, Luis Perales, Andrew Pinckney, Braxton Roxby, Jared Simpson, Jack Sinclair, Erik Tolman, Gus Varland, Jorbit Vivas, Matt Waldron, and Eddy Yean.
As we know, a few of those players won’t be on the roster by the end of Spring Training. That is just how it goes in the MLB. And truthfully, there will probably be 3-to-5 who will be gone before Thanksgiving as the team has to clear spots for Rule-5 eligible players like Jarlin Susana, Travis Sykora, and Alejandro Rosario.
The main goal here is improving the roster for the long-term. This has been a stated goal of the team’s architect, President of Baseball Operations, Paul Toboni. And with the current lowest payroll in baseball at the moment, that gives Toboni extra payroll flexibility.
“Generally speaking, future payroll flexibility is a really good thing. … What I would say is that there are creative ways to actually use that payroll, whether it’s actually going out and signing free agents or extensions or whatever it might be. What we want to do is — regardless of how we’re going to use the payroll — do it in a way that sets us up, hopefully, to be a much better team next year, but then be a really good team into the future,” Toboni said at the end of the season
The roster is better than a year ago, and the system is thriving. The roster needs 3-to-4 impact signings. Hopefully the Nats’ ownership understands that. If extending Cade Cavalli was a sign, that was a welcomed sign. Yesterday during the Nats’ broadcast, Toboni said that everything that he has brought to ownership they agreed to. Everything? Yes, “everything” per Toboni’s words. Their job is to support Toboni with the financial resources to make the next step forward.
We are ready for next steps. Cavalli says the rebuild is over, and he is thinking of October playoff baseball. Here is what he said after he signed his contract extension:
❝ Process is of a winning culture [here]. … Fully plan on playing in October [2027].❞
❝ We’re walking around here feeling the weather, it feels like playoff baseball weather. We’re planning on playing in it next year, and I know that every guy feels it — and thinks that.❞
The paying fans always deserve better. Winning is the beginning.
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