5 questions that the Nats face this offseason

This story was excerpted from Jessica Camerato's Nationals Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

For the second season in a row, the Nationals finished with a 71-91 record and commemorated 10 Major League debuts. This winter, the Nats have key questions to address as they enter the next stage of their youth movement. Here are five early ones this offseason.

1. How much will they spend in free agency?
The Nationals have signed players to short-term deals in recent years, finding success flipping them at the Trade Deadline for prospect packages. With the youth movement in motion, it remains to be seen if Washington will follow the same approach or ink larger contracts to fill out the roster.

“I think it's time to spend at a point,” said general manager Mike Rizzo. “We’re going to see who's available and what fits we have out there. But I think that it's time for us to add to the roster, because we've got a good young core ... and some veteran leadership, I think, is warranted.”

2. Who will be in the starting rotation?
The Nationals have a returning quartet of starters in right-hander Jake Irvin and left-handers MacKenzie Gore, DJ Herz and Mitchell Parker. Veterans Patrick Corbin and Trevor Williams are entering free agency, and right-handers Cade Cavalli and Josiah Gray are recovering from Tommy John surgery.

A return by Williams in 2025 isn't out of the question. He began the year strong, battled back from a lengthy injury and finished his ninth season with a 6-1 record and a 2.03 ERA in 13 starts. Williams also has experience pitching out of the bullpen, and he could have a dual role as a length arm as the season progresses.

? Q&A: Rizzo talks young core, offseason plans

3. Will the Nationals sign a veteran catcher?
Riley Adams and Drew Millas filled the backup role to Keibert Ruiz this season. Ruiz, 26, has not played in D.C. with a veteran backup, and the team could benefit from that guidance in 2025.

“I think we’ve got to get better catching-wise, I really do,” Rizzo said. “I think we did come a long way in the framing aspect of it. I think that, generally, we have to improve the way we attack the opposition's running game. We're going to work a lot in Spring Training on holding runners, pick-off moves and catchers throwing runners out. So it will be a point of focus here coming into the season.

“I like the three catchers that we have on the roster. They all bring a different dynamic to the ballclub, and I think that there's room for improvement for all three of them in certain aspects of their game.”

4. Who will play third base?
Brady House is expected to be the Nationals' third baseman of the future. Much like with James Wood and Dylan Crews this season, the question is when will that happen? The 21-year-old House -- ranked as the Nats’ No. 3 prospect and MLB’s No. 84 prospect overall -- hit .241 with 21 doubles, 19 homers and 66 RBIs in 129 games between Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Rochester this season.

“We like the depth that we have at third base,” Rizzo said. “We've got House in the Minor Leagues, we've got [No. 9 prospect Yohandy] Morales in the Minor Leagues that we think are going to be terrific players at both corners of the infield. [José] Tena has been superb over there since he came back, especially offensively. … And we’ve got [Trey] Lipscomb, who's already a big-time defender that's got to work out some things offensively. So we feel pretty good at that position.”

5. Who will become the setup reliever?
There was an opportunity to fill late innings after the Nationals traded setup reliever Hunter Harvey to the Royals. Left-hander Jose A. Ferrer embraced it. The 24-year-old Ferrer returned from a left lat strain that sidelined him for the first 97 games of the season, and he finished his second year in the Majors with a 1-0 record and a 3.38 ERA, including his first career save and six games finished in 31 appearances (32 innings).

“He's got the stuff to pitch at the end of the games,” said Rizzo. “[Manager Dave Martinez] tested the waters in some leverage situations, and he's a guy that we're going to count on in the future to pitch [in] late-inning [situations]. … You've heard me say that 27th out is the hardest out to get, and until you're thrown in a fire and tested, you have to get the experience in doing that.”