Washington Nationals 2009 Season Preview

Washington Nationals 2009 Preview

The biggest signing during the 2008 offseason was Adam Dunn. Dunn had been phenomenal throughout the World Baseball Classic, but will he provide enough offense to a lineup that struggled so mightily in 2008? Most likely not.

The Nationals also acquired Josh Willingham (trade, Marlins), Daniel Cabrera (Free Agency), and Scott Olson (trade, Marlins), which should help their depth problem going into 2009.

The Nationals have good depth in the outfield (Willingham, Austin Kearns, Lastings Milledge, and Elijah Dukes), but the lack of pitching in both the starting rotation and bull-pen should lead to yet another last place finish in 2009.

With Lannan, Olson, and Cabrera, the Nationals feature what could be a promising young rotation, but a lack of run support from an average offense should ultimately do the club in.

The bull-pen is also lacking in depth. Aside from Joel Hanrahan, who went 6-3 with nine saves and a 3.95 ERA last year, the pen lacks quality arms.

Overall, the Nationals are young, and without quality pitching, there’s no reason to expect anything more than another 100 loss season.

Washington Nationals Surprise Player of 2009:

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Washington Nationals Projected 2009 Record:

Fifth place in the NL East with a record of 62-100.