One analyst thinks Nats are poised to make run at Mets if healthy originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
As we pass the midway point of the MLB season, the Nationals are 42-43.
Most seasons, that record would raise some major concerns about their ability to emerge out of the National League East as a playoff contender. But luckily for them, and perhaps disappointing for a lot of fans, this has been far from a typical season for the NL East.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
"I'm disappointed because I thought there would be at least three teams over .500," baseball analyst and former MLB general manager Jim Duquette said on Thursday speaking with Grant & Danny on 106.7 the Fan.
The Mets (45-38) are the sole team in the NL East with a winning record, with little separating them from the second-place Nationals and the third-place Braves (42-44).
With Washington and Atlanta both 3 games behind the Mets, the playoff picture is far from clear. But Duquette, who worked in the Orioles and the Mets front offices, has his doubts about the Braves.
"I don't know if they have it in them," he said. "What they need this year, they didn't re-sign. They had Adam Duvall last year as an outfielder, they didn't re-sign and he goes to the Marlins. They need him. They needed Mark Melancon at the back end of the bullpen. He's gone to San Diego, has had 27 saves and they need him right now."
"One team that's poised for a run, and they don't need to go on much of run...we saw what the Nats did in June and they were closing the gap, so maybe it's in the Nats again if they can stay healthy," Duquette added.
The Nationals went 19-9 in June before dropping four consecutive games against the Dodgers last weekend, but have taken two of the first three games from the Padres in a four-game set before the All-Star Break.
Despite Kyle Schwarber's outstanding performance at leadoff being stifled by a "significant" hamstring strain, Duquette still backs the Nats, barring any more major injuries and pending the acquisition of another strong bat at the trade deadline. But the latter will come at a price for GM Mike Rizzo.
"You gotta try to take on some salary and those are hard to do. There's not a ton that come to my mind where you just grab this guy and they're not looking for a significant [prospect] in return," he said. "Those are really difficult deals for the most part. If you really end up finding a high priced guy and trying to take on some of that salary and that's the best I can think of for them."
