New Nationals GM, manager will have to rescue franchise from state of mediocrity 

Since their championship season, the Nationals have never had a winning percentage higher than .440 in a single season and are on track to finish well below that mark again this season.

The organization has traded away stars like Juan Soto, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer and has not really done a great job developing its own internal talent. 

It has to be especially frustrating for Nationals fans because in one of the aforementioned superstar trades — the Juan Soto trade to San Diego — they actually did about as well as anybody could have expected in trading away one of the game's best, in-his-prime hitters. 

They turned Soto into starting shortstop CJ Abrams, outfielder James Wood and starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore. Abrams and Wood are, by far, the Nationals' best position players and are both young All-Stars. Gore has developed into the team's best starting pitcher and is in the middle of a breakout season.

Getting a haul like that back should have been a big turning point for the franchise, especially with some top draft picks sprinkled in around them, including 2023 No. 2 overall pick Dylan Crews. 

But they have not really seen much progress from their own drafted-and-developed talent, with Crews especially struggling through his first two years in the big leagues. 

Outside of Abrams, Wood and Gore, the roster is full of holes, and it's hard to see many immediate, quick-fixes on the horizon.

In the short-term, interim general manager Mike DeBartolo is expected to make one of the most important picks in Nationals history when he makes the No. 1 selection next week and will have to navigate through the trade deadline for a team that will clearly be selling.

Where things will get especially interesting is when they hire a new full-time general manager who has to put their vision into place. New general managers typically mean major changes, as they try to bring in their own players and build the roster the way they want it. Given how far away the Nationals seem to be from serious contention right now, that could mean some significant moves in the coming year. 

Does the new GM think they can quickly build something around Wood, Abrams and Gore?

Can a new manager help get Crews to being the player they need him to be?

Will a new front office be able to develop the next No. 1 overall pick?

Those are big questions that are not going to have easy or simple answers. 

The Nationals have been stuck in mediocrity for so long, and it might take some time for a new general manager to dig them out of it.