This past Wednesday, the Washington Nationals beat the Baltimore Orioles to improve to 18-17, marking the first time the ballclub was above .500 since July 2nd, 2021.
So much has happened with Washington since the last time they had a winning record, including multiple roster moves and three last-place finishes in the National League East division. Here is a rundown (no pun intended):
July 29th, 2021: The Nationals acquire Riley Adams from the Toronto Blue Jays for Brad Hand. The team also traded Kyle Schwarber to the Boston Red Sox.
July 30th, 2021: The Nats trade away stars Max Scherzer and Trea Turner to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a blockbuster deal for prospects such as Keibert Ruiz and Josiah Gray. The team also trades Daniel Hudson to the San Diego Padres and Yan Gomes to the Oakland Athletics, while acquiring Lane Thomas from the St. Louis Cardinals for Jon Lester.
October 3rd, 2021: Washington finishes the 2021 MLB season with a record of 65-97 for fifth place in the NL East and the third-worst in the National League, two years after their World Series championship.
February 15th, 2022: Veteran Ryan Zimmerman announces his retirement, finishing his career as the Nationals/Expos all-time franchise leader in many stats categories including hits (1,846), home runs (284), RBIs (1,061), and games played (1,799).
March 16th, 2022: The Nationals re-sign closer Sean Doolittle to a one-year major league contract.
March 21st, 2022: Washington claims Hunter Harvey off waivers from the San Francisco Giants.
July 7th-16th, 2022: The Nationals go on a nine-game losing streak, their longest since their 11-game losing streak that started near the end of the 2008 season and extended into the beginning of the 2009 season.
August 2nd, 2022: In a blockbuster deal, Washington trades away stars Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres for C.J. Abrams, MacKenzie Gore, Luke Voit, and minor leaguers James Wood and Robert Hassell III. The team also selects the contract of Joey Meneses.
August 26th, 2022: 2020 first-round pick Cade Cavalli makes his major league debut for the Nats.
October 5th, 2022: The Nationals finish the 2022 season at 55-107 for fifth place in the NL East and the worst in franchise history.
December 10th, 2022: Washington signs Trevor Williams to a two-year major league contract.
February 12th, 2023: Former longtime team owner Ted Lerner passes away at the age of 97.
March 11th, 2023: The Nationals sign Keibert Ruiz to an eight-year contract extension.
May 3rd, 2023: Jake Irvin makes his major league debut.
July 9th, 2023: Washington selects Dylan Crews at No. 2 overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.
July 30th, 2023: The Nats trade away Jeimer Candelario to the Chicago Cubs for minor league prospects.
August 26th, 2023: Jacob Young makes his major league debut.
October 1st, 2023: Washington finishes the 2023 season at 71-91, a slight improvement from the previous season, but also the fourth consecutive fifth-place division finish.
2023-2024 offseason: The Nationals sign Dylan Floro, Nick Senzel, Joey Gallo, and Jesse Winker.
March 30th, 2024: Trey Lipscomb and Nasim Nunez make their major league debuts.
April 6th, 2024: 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg officially retires from baseball.
April 15th, 2024: Mitchell Parker makes his major league debut (and a stellar one for sure).
May 7th, 2024: The winning-record drought ends.
