![Sophomore Mason Lee encompasses the persona of his character, Enjolras, during a rehearsal of Act One. I think [rehearsals are] going well and were very on track [with the squedule]... which is good, Student Assistant Director senior Neena Tavik, who is also playing Eponine, said. (Courtesy Sasha Rotton)](https://www.wjpitch.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/24466917-801C-45FE-A882-D818DABBDCB8-600x451.jpg)
After an ultimately disappointing end to the 2014 World Series campaign, marked by an early exit from the Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs, the Washington Nationals immediately focused on signing one of baseball’s best right-handed pitchers, Max Scherzer. On Jan. 22, Scherzer and the Nats finally closed a seven-year, $210 million contract that will make him the wealthiest right-handed pitcher in the MLB.
“In 2006, that’s when I started loving [Max Scherzer],” Nationals GM Mike Rizzo said. In his time with the Detroit Tigers, Scherzer won a whopping 82 games in only five years, and also captured the American League (AL) Cy Young award in 2013.
While Scherzer stands as the likely front-runner in the Nats rotation at the moment, Rizzo and Co. are facing a potentially even greater dilemma in the future signings of Jordan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond, and Doug Fister, who are all valuable players with one year remaining in their contracts.
Zimmerman, who was the Nats’ ace in 2014, also delivered a no-hitter in the same season, and is entering the 2015 MLB season with a large price-tag on his head. Several teams, including the Milwaukee Brewers, who are from Zimmerman’s hometown, and the Boston Red Sox are currently engaged in a race to trade for Zimmerman, but for now, the Nationals are hoping to salvage their ace for another year.
Desmond, the Nats’ consistently reliable shortstop, won’t come cheap thanks to his valuable defensive skillset. And Fister, who is fresh off an outstanding 2014 debut with the Nats, will surely become a free-agent desired by many.
If Zimmerman, Fister and Desmond return for 2015, the Nats are sure to be World Series contenders, and hopefully this time around, they will avenge their early defeat and advance past the divisional round of the playoffs. However, in the long run, all three competitors may end their reign with the Nats, which would leave many Washington fans concerned about the future.
“This organization is capable of [winning]. And winning a lot,” Scherzer concluded in a press conference.
Nats fans across the D.C. area are surely hoping that Scherzer is the missing piece of the puzzle.
