Let’s start with the good news first. MLB and D.C. have both cleared Juan Soto to finally return to the Nationals. The heart and soul of the Nationals lineup will be back to staring down opposing pitchers and blasting moonshots into the empty stands. The team is currently off due to their weekend series against the Miami Marlins being postponed. Washington will return to action today against the New York Mets. Without Soto in the lineup, the offense has been stagnant and the team is currently 3-4 because of it. It is still up in the air if Soto will be able to return tonight. Manager Dave Martinez told the media,

“We’ll see how he feels [Sunday],”. “He hasn’t been able to get out on the field and do anything. We got to get him back [going]. His legs are feeling a little sluggish.”

Soto is close to returning and his return couldn’t have come at a better time. However, there is more than meets the eye.

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Tonight, Washington dropped a tough one to Toronto 4-1, in part to the offense not being able to show up when it mattered. Here are three takeaways from the team’s defeat.

The Bullpen Stepped Up

Washington’s bullpen was lights out. Yes, this was not a typo. Ryne Harper, Javy Guerra, and Sam Freeman combined for four scoreless innings, while only allowing three baserunners. Here’s a breakdown.

Freeman: .2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Guerra: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB

Harper: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

That is such a promising sight, especially after Sean Doolittle and Will Harris blew the lead on Sunday.

The Offense Couldn’t Finish

After torching the Yankees for nine runs on Saturday night, the offense has combined for three runs over the last two games, including only one tonight. Toronto won game one of the series 4-1, thanks to four solo homers off of Anibal Sanchez. Washington out-hit Toronto 11-7, but also stranded nine runners and hit into four double plays. The team couldn’t catch a break, as the team twice lined the ball right at someone for a double play.

Baserunning gaffes cost the team, especially early on. With two on and one out in the second, Victor Robles hit what should have been at least a double. Instead, Eric Thames tagged up when he didn’t need to and had to stop at third. Both Michael A. Taylor and Trea Turner failed to produce with the bases loaded.

The absence of Juan Soto was obvious, with the team struggling to come up clutch. His return will be a big jolt to the offense, but he won’t be able to do everything alone. Dave Martinez should look at rearranging the lineup and putting Robles towards the top instead of ninth.

While it is early, in a 60 game season, the team cannot afford to drop games like this.

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Last season, the Washington Nationals won the World Series in large part from their superstars but, received plenty of production from the team’s depth. With Anthony Rendon gone, Juan Soto will be leaned on to carry the offense, while the big three will once again lead the starting rotation. If the Nats want to repeat as champs, they will once again need their depth to step up when needed. In particular, these three players, the team’s X-Factors, will make or break the Nationals title hopes.

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The Nationals have two starting pitchers, Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg, with the pedigree to start Opening Day when the club begins its title defense at home against the New York Yankees. And on Monday, Martinez ended the suspense over who would get the ball next Thursday.

Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, will start over Strasburg, Martinez announced on MLB Network. Scherzer has been the Nationals’ Opening Day starter for the past two years and is 1-2 with a 1.27 ERA in four career Opening Day starts. Last year, he struck out 12 New York Mets and gave up just two runs on two hits over seven innings, though the Nationals were shut out by Jacob deGrom 2-0.

The decision to start Scherzer on July 23 isn’t a slight toward Strasburg. Strasburg been an integral part of the club since being drafted first overall in 2009. He’s the Nationals franchise leader in games started, wins and strikeouts since moving to the nation’s capital from Montreal in 2005. In last year’s World Series, as the Nationals headed back to Houston trailing 3-2, they turned to Strasburg to extend their season. He responded by pitching into the ninth inning and not surrendering a run after the first as the Nationals forced a seventh game on their way to winning the franchise’s first world championship.

The Nationals rewarded Strasburg’s loyalty by giving him a seven-year, $245 million contract to stay in Washington last December. Since 2012, Strasburg is eighth in the Majors in wins and fifth in strikeouts per nine innings among pitchers with at least 100 starts.

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