The Washington Nationals signed DH Josh Bell over the last week, while also re-signing RHP Trevor Williams. But, does this move alongside the other acquisitions get the Nats into Postseason contention?
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It's the lockdown podcast network, your team every day. The Washington Nationals have officially signed Josh Bell and Trevor Williams over the last week or so. How much better does this make the Washington Nationals will discuss after this. And thank you all for making lockdown nationals your first listen every single day as we are free and available wherever you get your podcast and of course you can check us out over on YouTube just search up locked on nationals and of course wherever you get your podcast again search locked on nationals and hit that subscriber button later on in today's program we're gonna get into a little bit of the New Year's as we are in new 2025 now which is unbelievable to think about but it's kind of talk about the New Year with the nationals and also get in some starting pictures that maybe they could add maybe they couldn't we'll answer that question for you a little bit later on in today's program but in the second segment how much better did the Washington Nationals get with Josh Bell and also re-signing Trevor Williams who had a great season in 2024 but can he replicate that moving forward we'll have that for you in the second segment of today's program but let's react to really the two signings that the nationals have made this offseason with Josh Bell come back here in DC after they traded him away in that long Soto deal just a handful of seasons ago he signed a one year six million dollar contract and Trevor Williams re-signed with the nationals on two years fourteen million dollars and both these things are a little bit confusing I guess to say the least but before we get into it the NFL playoffs are almost here but it's not too late to get on the regular season action with fan duel because right now new customers can finish the season strong with two hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first five dollar bet wins just visit bandwell.com to get started and we get started on a high note for the washington nationals is they have made two signings in free agency and really just kind of reacting to these no more let's just start with this first I was not necessarily convinced that the nationals would be making some big moves these aren't really big moves so I guess you could say I was right maybe you're right if you're thinking the same thing but overall I'm not going to say I'm upset with these moves these are good moves Josh Bell was solid last year to say the least and Trevor Williams was really good outside of that injury that he had that really kind of shut him up for the majority of last year but kind of getting into these decisions and what they really mean for the nationals these moves feel as if they're like the icing on the cake like those last kind of finishing touches before you make a postseason run and also they seem like the finishing touches to a good off season here's the only thing missing from these signs is that the nationals have not really had an explosive get to have kind of player signing a star this offseason we have not really had that to kind of put us over that hump in my opinion these moves happen after that big move and that was my first reaction was that number one maybe they just think they are that close maybe they don't think that spending on an Alex Braggman or spending on a Corbin Burns or Peter Lonzo is that big of a deal right now like and tell you this if you think Peter Lonzo is coming to DC after these moves he is not Josh Bell is going to be a D H then Nathaniel Oh will play your first baseman every single day but the frustrating part with these moves is that again it doesn't seem as if that these are the moves that should be your marquee kind of free agency acquisitions that's not what it should be these should be the finishing touches after you sign an Anthony Santander after you sign a Peter Lonzo so I'm gonna kind of bolster up this roster because that's what the Nationals need at this point you overall just need more talent and while the Nationals I do believe they got better signing Josh Bell I do believe that you get better retaining Trevor Williams signing to a two year deal overall they aren't like overwhelmingly good like these aren't moves that you're bragging to your Mets fans about these aren't moves that were telling the Phillies better watch out and saying with the Braves meanwhile the Phillies and the Braves they both been relatively quiet this offseason but also those seems they're ready to win now they're ready to make World Series runs as we sit here today these moves do they make it closer for the Washington Nationals maybe because I do think again that Josh Bell will help you you've seen it before Josh Bell back in 2022 was really having a career year for the Nationals that season he was awesome in those 103 games he played for the Nationals he had a 877 OPS he was baton 300 at 14 home runs now just over a hundred games Josh Bell was on a pretty elite clip that season even winning a silver slugger in the National League that year but now with the Nationals I just feel as if what we thought would be a big splash off season where maybe the Nationals would go out there and be an appeal on the market you now have three new guys here Josh Bell Nathaniel Lowe and Trevor Williams coming back on a two year deal so really just two new guys and Soroka as well who's in the full that's not really putting the Nationals over the hump in my opinion now these guys will help the Nationals I do think Josh Bell will be solid I do think Nathaniel Lowe will be pretty damn good and I also think Trevor Williams will help in a starter role and also maybe down the road in a bullpen capacity kind of fireman situation I think these moves are plus but I was looking for that plus plus move we just aren't going to get that this off season and I think that has to frustrate a lot of people that has to and we're going to answer the question that whether is is are these moves going to give the Nationals that extra juice to make a postseason run we'll have that answer for you later on in today's program but sitting here today I feel as if the Nationals did get better and I can't just ignore that fact of this because the Nationals signing Josh Bell while it's not the crazy splash he moved you know this he's going to hit the ball they can hit the ball hard and he's going to hit home runs that's gonna be good that the annual loan has won a silver slugger as a gold glove caliber kind of position over at first base that's going to help a lot as well and you also have Trevor Williams who can kind of do it both ways whether he's a solid starter for you or comes in as that fireman out of the bullpen making spot starts the Nationals have overall gotten a little bit better but I think if you were to kind of hone in on these moves and just combine the money I know it's not how it works and it's not how GMs think but hear me out for a second if you were to combine the AAV of Josh Bell and Trevor Williams and Nathaniel Lowe you feel as if you probably could have done something a little bit more you would have liked to see the Nationals go out there and really put their name on the hot seat and say we're here and we're gonna sign P. Alonso we're gonna go after Alex Bregman we're gonna make some trades we're gonna get this team better we're gonna be ready to make a postseason run in 2025 overall I'm not sure if we're ready to say that I do think these moves helped the team I do think the Nationals win more than 71 games then what they've done over the last two years here I think we have gotten better but also the Nationals have a lot of holes and how much better did they get well I'll answer that after we tell you guys well some of our very good friends over at FanDuel and of course guys you know the drill the NFL playoffs are almost here but it's not too late to get it on the regular season action with FanDuel America's number one sportsbook because right now new customers can finish the season strong with $250 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins and FanDuel has so many ways for you to pick up a W I love betting on which players will score a touchdown and how many points each team will score it is thrilling this week and you got Jayden Dale so should be in the MVP conversation going up against those Dallas Cowboys I've got a Jayden Daniels any time rushing touchdown and also a Terry McClaren anytime touchdown score and you guys can do that at our friends at FanDuel and just visit manduel.com to join today that is FanDuel.com for your chance at $250 in bonus bets make every moment more FanDuel the official sportsbook partner of the NFL and now we get back into it with discussing some of these Nationals off season moves so far and the question that we're going to get to here is how much better does this make the Nationals you are a 71 win team over the last two years haven't really made any big kind of acquisitions up to this point outside of Josh Bell Trevor Williams and now you also have Nathaniel Lowe in the fold how much better did the Nationals get I do think we got better but I don't think this gets the Nationals into the postseason now with the current roster in the way that it's constructed with all your top prospects with all the guys who are at the major league level this could potentially be a postseason team but things will have to happen and I'll lay the groundwork right here for you number one CJ Abrams is going to have to be the first half CJ Abrams the all-star of 2024 the guy that we are clamoring for the Nationals to sign an extension to also James Wood James Wood is going to have to be your star studded player Dylan Cruz these are three guys that have to pan out and be stars for the Washington Nationals in order for this team to take that next step because looking at the Nationals rotation at this point looking at their young core players you do have solid groundwork for potentially being a postseason team but there are a lot of what if questions and I just laid it out for you like what if Dylan Cruz doesn't necessarily pan out what if James Wood isn't ready to take that next step up even though I think he is what if CJ Abrams kind of looks like the shell of himself what we saw in the second half of 2024 these are all questions that you have to think about and I don't know if you can just say well Nathaniel Lowe is going to carry your back here probably not is he going to help this team I'm sure of it he will he's solid over at first base he's pretty damn good at the plate with his bat Josh Bell is a DH if he can focus solely on hitting and seeing what he does there I think you could get some pretty good production out of him Trevor Williams if he's healthy and he's in the rotation you feel pretty good about that he's coming off a really good year in 2024 but also with that said like Josh Bell while he wasn't great this last year with the Marlins hit a negative 0.8 B war then he had a 0.3 B war with the dimebacks after he got traded there to Arizona these are moves that again like they're good moves but also at what cost I'm not a hundred percent sold that these moves will just get the nationals into the postseason because again what these moves tell me is that they are ready for a postseason run and also the main storyline of what these moves really tell me is they think that the core of their team for 2025 is already on them they think the core is Dylan Cruz James Wood McKenzie Gore CJ Abrams and all the different young guys and all the other different prospects that are ready to come up in the 2025 like a Brady House and maybe a Travis Okora down the line this is what that really tells me and at some point in time if you're a nationals fan if you watch and root for this team constantly you have to feel like are these really going to be the guys that will take the nationals to that next step and they could but it's hard to convince me of that because again a lot of things have to happen in order for the nationals to get there I would want to hit home on this fact though the nationals did get better I don't want people to take this out of context and say well you're just a hater you're not really looking at the big picture no I am this national team is good they will be a lot better than what I believe we saw last season but guys are gonna have to stay healthy you're gonna have to see Trevor Williams be a really good pitcher yet again for the second straight year which might happen but also might not happen you're gonna have to see Josh Bell kind of have a little bit of a renaissance here as he's getting older and he's 32 years old gonna be 33 this summer these moves tell me that the nationals think they are right there and they are but I think that still sitting here today I would have liked to see the nationals go after a superstar I would have liked to see them go out there and sign up he'd Alonzo and sign up I don't know what Max Fried of someone like that someone will really get you over the hump and then you make these kind of decisions where you add Josh Bell where you trade for Nathaniel Lowe where you bring back Trevor Williams on a pretty team friendly contract but ultimately with what we have done so far you're missing that star you're missing that big off season acquisition that we're talking out here saying look what the nationals did that is what gets them over the hump and let me just say this the off season it's not over yet they could go in there and maybe stun everyone and sign Anthony Santander maybe you go out there and make a big splash trade which every way that could look but what these moves tell me is that they're probably done you could go out there I could still see a possibility where the nationals try to offload some of their top guys to get a star in the building I don't know what that could look like maybe it's Luis Castillo with the Seattle Mariners at this point who knows what the nationals decide to do but overall these moves are good they're pushing you in the right direction but we're missing a missing piece if you know what I'm saying we're missing that star this is not the off season where the nationals went out there and got their Jason Ward unfortunately this is the off season where the got your max shirts are either but with this nationals team you did get better and I do think the nationals could make a post season run potentially on how things look going forward and again we talked about it earlier the segment but your stars your young core James Wood that is the first aim that stands out to me he is going to have to light this earth on fire in 2025 in which he realistically could by the way Dylan Cruz the number one prospect in all of baseball he's gonna have to hit the ground running on spring training an opening day and be your stud Jacob Young someone who is not a superstar but very good defensively out there in center field you're gonna want to see him do a little bit better at the plate in order to help this offense Nathaniel Lowe you're gonna want to see him have a bounce back season in 2025 if you see what I'm saying here a lot of things have to happen in order to make this nationals team a postseason contender in the year of 2025 it's just as if you're playing this game of math it's not that realistic just this year now in 2026 when Dylan Cruz is a full season under his belt when James Wood does as well and with hopefully CJ Abrams taking steps up then yeah maybe we could be having a different conversation maybe we could be talking about one of those guys being MVP candidates going into 2026 maybe we're talking about Mackenzie Gore being a complete stud and ace of the staff and Jake Irvin being of great number two and Josiah Gray coming back healthy Cain Kavali coming out of nowhere being part of this rotation but I've watched this game a lot 25 years old now I've seen this nationals team I've seen how they have kind of got themselves in position to win and it's not by the way that we have been doing things over the last few seasons the way that they have gotten to be better is going out there and spending in free agency and unfortunately for this team I just don't think we are there just yet and what tells me that is what we have done this offseason let me reiterate this point and hit home here Josh Bell Nathaniel Lowe bringing back Trevor Williams Saroka all these moves help the nationals but I don't think this pushes the nationals past like 85 wins and I don't think if all these guys reach the peak of their powers really kind of gets you set up to make a big run in October other things will have to happen and I'm not saying they won't but with the way that they are moving kind of in free agency and the way that this roster is constructed I tend to think that the nationals offseason the bulk of it is likely over I'm sure we'll see some bullpen moves maybe we see a trade but overall I think this is that and it does get you better but I don't think it gets you into the postseason in the year 2025 so let's talk about this because the nationals starting pitchers and also just kind of previewing the new year we are next month given the nationals reporting the spring training so think about that for a second after we tell you guys about our friends over at game time and I love going to live events whether it's sports music theater our comedy one of my favorite memories was attending a concert last year the energy energy and excitement were unforgettable now game time has made it even easier with our friends at game time and of course and when we talk about game time they have a new feature called game time picks and this feature filters filters out a fluff so you they only show you incredible deals on great seats so you don't have to waste time searching through thousands of tickets and recently I was looking for tickets to an upcoming like capitals game and I used the game time app and I found their flash stone deal and their super deal as well they were both so impressive I want you guys to have that experience right there and then for you two clicks and it's in your phone and of course you have to take the guesswork out of buying tickets with game time down the game time app creating account and use code locked on MLB for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again creating account and redeem code LOCKEEDON MLB for $20 off download game time today what time is it it's game time now we get back into it with the nationals and just kind of previewing 2025 we are here happy new year to everyone by the way uh this nationals team it's going to be a fun one watch in 2025 like they will be making some noise I do think the nationals at some point this season we will be talking about them potentially making a postseason run like that is exciting it has been since 2019 since you've really had any hope I guess you could say 2020 and 2021 just two years removed from winning a world series but you also lost a lot of key guys in that in that year you lost Anthony Rendaud as well as some other pieces over that world series team but I think this year in 2025 you can actually finally say that there is some hope that there is something to look forward to and again maybe the nationals kind of lay an egg this year which is totally possible by the way but here's the good news you still have micros are running the baseball ops here in town he is one of if not in my opinion a top five executive in all of baseball the job that he has done to get this team in this position in 2025 is incredible looking back at that Juan Soto trade a few years ago that was one of the best moves any GM has ever made across all of sports now it's time to kind of pay that back and kind of see the results on the field by seeing McKenzie Gore being a very good to solid pitcher in 2025 by seeing CJ Abrams staying consistent for 162 games and being an all-star caliber shortstop seeing Luis Garcia Jr take another step up and be a great second baseman for this team moving forward there's a lot of what ifs but again this is an exciting time to be a national fan and in 2025 it's not crazy to think about the nationals being in the postseason this October it's not things will have to happen more additions will have to happen guys will have to take steps up but there is room for that so as we said if you're watching them on youtube you see on today's show there's still room to add starting pitchers i do think there is room for the nationals to add starting pitchers and you might be thinking well look at the rotation right now there's like six to seven guys that you could say could be on the starting rotation you're right but number one injuries happen and number two there's going to be a lot of competition entering spring training yet Gore, Ervin, Hers, Parker, Williams, Soroka, Cavalli when he is healthy, Gray when he is healthy the nationals they've got a lot of different guys and also Travis Sakura one of probably your best prospect in your system outside of Dylan Cruz these are things that you're gonna have to think about in the 2025 and maybe the nationals get on the right track and we're talking about a postseason team in the year of 2025 i will catch you guys on the flip side happy new year i will talk to you tomorrow have a good one go nats a prime members you can listen to this lockdown podcast add free on amazon music download the Amazon Music app today!
