Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals: Plan to Make 2017 World Series

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Now 48 seasons without a trip to the World Series, here is how the Washington Nationals can break their drought and win the pennant.

The Washington Nationals have never been to the World Series.

During their years in Montreal as the Expos, they never won the National League pennant. Despite three NL East championships in five years, these Nats have yet to win a playoff series.

Oh, the last time Washington made a World Series was in 1933. Those Nationals left town for Minnesota in 1961. The expansion Senators never made the playoffs here, waiting until the 1990s and their new sauna of a home in Arlington.

When Wrigley Field hosts Game 3 of the 2016 World Series, the Chicago Cubs 71-year drought for hosting a World Series game will end and the team with the longest hosting drought turns to the Nationals/Expos and their 48 years of futility. A record no team wants to own.

Still, that drought can come to an end as early as 2017. Your Washington Nationals are poised to break through and bring the greatest show in baseball to the banks of the Anacostia River. It can happen.

Yes, the Nationals and Expos have suffered heartbreak, strikes and two do-or-die losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers to end previous campaigns. How can we be sure that this team can reach a level of euphoria felt right now in Chicago and in Cleveland with the Indians. Their championship droughts reach back nearly 70 years for the Indians and 108 for the Cubs.

The answer is simple. Make the playoffs and, in time, good things will happen. Here is the blueprint on how Washington joins the party next year.

Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

ROSTER CAN WIN IT ALL

We can moan all winter over whether a healthy Stephen Strasburg would be the difference maker in the NL Divisional Series loss. Remember, in games Max Scherzer did not pitch in the NLDS, the Nats went 2-1.

We cannot go back and plug Strasburg into that series, but with the rotation where it is they can win a playoff round.

If you add a Bryce Harper producing at a higher level than he did this year and a full year under Pedro Severino’s belt behind the plate, you have a team that easily won the NL East this year and had home field for the LDS. That is an advantage.

This assumes Mark Melancon stays and Trea Turner produces at a level close to what he did in his half-season, but outside of the Chicago Cubs, a healthy Washington Nationals were the second-best team in the NL.

Seasons such as what the Cubs pulled off are once every 10 years in dominance. No matter what happens during the World Series, history is against another Cubs regular season steamroll. The 25 men on the active roster are capable of winning it all, provided there are no more major injuries. Those 95 wins this season was not an accident.

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

UPGRADING AT CATCHER

Although Pedro Severino is the catcher of the future, if the Nationals are to make the 2017 World Series, they need an established hand behind the plate.

The ACL injury to Wilson Ramos was a big reason the Nats failed to move on. Severino and Jose Lobaton did a respectable job catching in the playoffs, but Ramos’ steady hand and bat this summer were missed in the fall.

Although Severino could surprise everyone and produce an amazing rookie season as Turner did this year, the Nationals are needing a veteran catcher who can handle calling games without being a negative at the plate. Severino, if you remember, received his signs from pitching coach Mike Maddux in the dugout. Not a winning formula.

Mike Wieters from the Baltimore Orioles is available via free agency. The right package could draw Brian McCann south from the New York Yankees. Washington may re-sign the injured Ramos and hope the Lobaton/Severino combo can hold their own the first half or take a flier on an aging A.J. Pierzynski to hold the fort.

Chances are they try to score Wieters and let Ramos go to the American League where he can DH and catch. Strengthen the catcher’s spot, as Severino grows into the job and can call his own games, and Washington will be primed for the next World Series run.

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

RE-SIGN MELANCON OR EQUIVALENT

When the Nationals realized Jonathan Papelbon was not pitching well enough to be trusted, they kicked the tires on several potential closers before scoring Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the non-waiver trade deadline.

Melancon saved 17 games in 30 regular season appearances with an ERA of 1.81 and tossed 4.1 scoreless innings in the playoffs. He did everything that was asked and deserves the chance at 31 to close for the Nats the next few years. Inspired by how Andrew Miller shut down the Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays for Cleveland in the playoffs, he expressed an interest in trying the same role.

The money is there to keep Melancon as we see who can establish themselves as the dependable setup man. With three consecutive years as a top-notch closer under his belt, he has the confidence to handle the job during those tough mid-summer stretches and in October when it counts most.

Yes, with Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman about to hit the open market, there will be calls to land one of them. Melancon, because of his status, will sign for more than the $9.65 million he made this year. To keep him, Washington may need to double it to retain him.

They know what they have in Melancon. How much of a premium to they pay to keep their insurance policy.

If he leaves, then they must pay for one of the other big names on the board. Closer is not a position they can experiment with next spring.

Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

SETTLING TREA TURNER

Whether the Nationals keep Trea Turner in the outfield, or move him to his native shortstop, he needs to know his position before Spring Training starts.

Turner played a passable centerfield this year. If you consider he has a whopping career total of 52 games in the outfield in professional baseball, he did a great job in the field. Yes, that means Danny Espinosa is the Opening Day shortstop, but Espinosa for all his offensive faults slugged 20 homers in 2016.

If the Nationals trade Espinosa and move Turner to the infield that works. With Ian Desmond available and players such as Andrew McCutchen possibly on the move, Washington can find a true outfielder to stick in center and see what Turner can give at short over a full season.

Turner is better suited for the infield over center, but as he learns how to use his instincts in running down fly balls, his confidence will grow and his speed will be an asset building his range. If Washington decides he is not the second coming of Mookie Betts, the sooner he takes daily infield in the Majors,. The better.

Because he is such an offensive threat with power and speed, they have to decide early where to place him. Either way, the focus needs to move on keeping his bat productive.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

PATIENCE WITH THE POWERS THAT BE

The Nationals made the playoffs with the combination of general manager Mike Rizzo and skipper Dusty Baker. Chris Speier is an able bench coach. Mike Maddux is a pitching genius. Davey Lopes is a steadying influence. Bob Henley should be more careful sending runners home.

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Add Rick Schu and his record setting offense and the Nationals have assembled a team of coaches and front office personnel that reward team play and winning. As seasons end earlier than anyone wants, there are calls for someone to be the proverbial scapegoat. If the season starts badly, those calls will grow louder.

Winning 95 games is not an accident. The relaxed atmosphere of the clubhouse, crucial to winning, comes from the tone set by Baker and his coaches. Assembling a championship team is Rizzo’s job.

In keeping Strasburg in the fold, recognizing Ben Revere and Papelbon were not working, and signing bench players such as Steven Drew and Chris Heisey, the Nationals have a formula that works.

When things get rough next year, as they will, the staff that can be trusted to make the right decisions is already there.

Sure, there are teams that can catch fire, or a huge injury could derail a season at the wrong time, but the pieces are there to turn the Washington Nationals into a championship team next year.

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