The
Washington Nationals:
Annual History *

2024: The Nationals rebuilding effort gains steam

The Washington Nationals made only two significant acquisitions of veteran talent during the 2023-2024 offseason: third baseman Nick Senzel in December and first baseman Joey Gallo in January. Neither player worked out, as Senzel was designated for assignment in early July, while Gallo went on the injured list in June after performing poorly, missing two months of play. Nevertheless, the younger players are showing great promise, especially outfielders James Wood and Dylan Crews. In early April, pitcher Stephen Strasburg finally announced his retirement, after he and the Nationals reached a settlement on the three years remaining on his 7-year $245 million contract. The Nats did not do well during the first few weeks of play, but started improving in May, and climbed into third place before slumping in the latter part of June, falling into fourth place again. During July they traded away relief pitcher Hunter Harvey, newly acquired left fielder Jesse Winker (to the New York Mets), and right fielder Lane Thomas (to the Cleveland Guardians). The Nats finished the year with the same record as in the year before: 71-91.

Starting positions, 2024

CF: Jacob Young .252 Victor Robles (DFA)

LF: Jesse Winker * $.199

RF: Lane Thomas $.268

SS: C.J. Abrams .245

2B: Luis Garcia .266

3B: Nick Senzel * .217 Ildemaro Vargas, Trey Lipscomb

PITCHING ROTATION Jake Irvin (4.61) Mitchell Parker (---) Mackenzie Gore (4.42) Trevor Williams (5.55) Patrick Corbin (5.20) Kyle Finnegan (3.76) : closer

1B: Joey Gallo * .177 Joey Meneses .275, Juan Yepez

C: Keibert Ruiz .251 Riley Adams

DH: Joey Meneses .275

2023 batting average for position players, ERA for pitchers. * (asterisk) = new player (since end of 2023) Underlines indicate that the photo is of the second-string player = No photo yet available. $ = traded away on Aug. 2

Manager: Dave Martinez

Nationals' head-to-head matchups,
2024

Opponent	Wins	Losses
ARZ	1	5
ATL	8	5
BAL	2	2
BOS	1	2
CHC	1	6
CHW	1	2
CIN	4	2
CLE	1	2
COL	4	2
DET	2	1
HOU	2	1
KC	0	3
LAA	2	1
LAD	2	4
MIA	11	2
MIL	4	2
MIN	1	2
NYM	2	11
NYY	2	1
OAK	1	2
PHI	4	9
PIT	3	4
SD	0	6
SEA	2	1
SF	3	4
STL	3	4
TB	1	2
TEX	1	2
TOR	2	1
Totals	71	91

New contracts of note

• Nick Senzel (3B) -- 1 year, $2 million (Dec.)
• Dylan Floro (P) -- 1 year, $2.25 million (Dec.)
• Tanner Rainey (P) -- 1 year, $1.5 million (Nov.) AE
• Victor Robles (CF) -- 1 year, $2.5 million (Nov.) AE
• Luis Garcia (2B) -- 1 year, $1.95 million (Jan.)
• Lane Thomas (OF) -- 1 year, $5.45 million (Jan.) AE
• Kyle Finnegan (P) -- 1 year, $5.1 million (Jan.) AE
• Hunter Harvey (P) -- 1 year, $2.3 million (Jan.) AE
• Joey Gallo (1B) -- 1 year, $5 million (Jan.)

"+" = optional extension (mutual or otherwise). "D" = part of salary is deferred. "AE" = arbitration eligible. Dollar figures are rounded, and are estimates in some cases.

2024 memorable moments

• Apr. 13 -- Mackenzie Gore strikes out 11; WSH 3, OAK 1 @
• Apr. 20 -- Joey Meneses hits game-winning RBI in bottom of 10th inning; WSH 5, HOU 4
• Apr. 27 -- Jesse Winker hits a grand slam, capping Nats' first double-digit score of the year; WSH 11, MIA 4
• Apr. 28 -- Nick Senzel homers twice as Nats bounce back from 7-0 2nd-inning deficit; WSH 12, MIA 9 @
• May 29 -- Mackenzie Gore strikes out 10 one day after Jake Irvin did the same (and lost); WSH 7, ATL 2 @
• June 15 -- D.J. Herz strikes out 13 over six innings; WSH 4, MIA 0
• July 4 -- Jake Irvin allows just one hit in 8 innings; Jesse Winker pinch-hit HR in 8th inning; WSH 1, NYM 0
• July 6 -- Three Nats homer (incl. James Wood's first) in blowout slugfest; WSH 14, STL 6
• July 25 -- Padres' pitcher Dylan Cease throws the third no-hitter in Nationals Park history; SD 3, WSH 0
• July 29 -- D-backs score 5 runs in bottom of the 9th to win, Kyle Finnegan blown save & loss; ARZ 9, WSH 8
• July 29 -- D-backs score 11 runs in first three innings off Patrick Corbin, Nats suffer biggest defeat margin ever; ARZ 17, WSH 0

"@" = away game

Nationals, 2024: month-by-month summary

Month	Wins	Losses	NL East place (at end)	Number of home games	Total attendance	Average attendance
* April 2024	14	15	4th	12	300,508	25,042
May 2024	12	15	3rd	11	270,603	24,600
June 2024	13	14	4th	13	342,309	26,331
July 2024	10	16	4th	14	355,424	25,387
Aug. 2024	12	15	4th	18	411,632	22,868
* Sept. 2024	10	16	4th	13	286,826	22,064
Apr.-July 2024	49	60	4th	50	1,268,844	25,377
SOURCE: My unofficial daily tabulations from MLB Gameday stats, Washington Post, and other newspapers. * -- The April data include 3 games in March.