Are the Washington Nationals a Better Team Without Bryce Harper?
Even though the Washington Nationals have made attempts to bring back Bryce Harper, we look at if they might be better without him.
Now let’s not fool ourselves, the Washington Nationals are going to miss the presence of Bryce Harper in the lineup.
The former MVP hit .249 last year with 34 home runs and 100 RBI in what was considered a down season for him — especially in the first half.
It’s been reported that the Nationals made a significant offer to Harper this offseason that he declined.
But there is a really good chance that the Nationals will be even better in 2019 without him.
We already know that Adam Eaton is a really good player when he is healthy, and we’ve seen what Juan Soto can do. With Harper gone, they’ll be able to add Victor Robles to the outfield.
Robles hit .288 in 59 at-bats last year with 3 home runs and has been considered a top five prospect in all of baseball by most rankings.
They also have Micahel Taylor as a fourth outfielder who has plenty of experience, so their outfield is really set.
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By not signing Harper, that allows the Nationals to make upgrades in other areas, which they’ve already done.
With the money they’ve saved by not signing Harper they’ve been able to bring in Patrick Corbin and Anibal Sanchez this offseason to bolster the starting rotation behind Stephen Strasburg and Max Scherzer.
The Nationals have also bolstered the lineup by trading for catcher Yan Gomes and signing Kurt Suzuki to back him up. They also signed Brian Dozier to play second base, allowing Howie Kendrick to be a solid utility player off the bench.
Matt Adams was also brought in to give them even more depth on the bench.
Spotrac has their total salary for the 2019 season at around $193 million, so they are likely done spending for now.
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By not signing Bryce Harper, the Washington Nationals have been able to put together a much deeper lineup one through 25, and in my opinion, they are the clear favorite in what is shaping up to be a competitive NL East.