Rizzo won't change plan despite strong finish

WASHINGTON -- Entering Thursday's series opener with the Marlins, the Nationals had won 21 of 28 games in their push for the postseason, but general manager Mike Rizzo doesn't believe that will change how he evaluates the club going into the offseason.

"We'll go through the same process," Rizzo said on Thursday. "We'll evaluate each individual roster spot in the context of what they bring to the team and what they'll bring to the team in the future, and make the decisions from there."

While the evaluation process will not change, Rizzo did admit that the performances of Tanner Roark, Taylor Jordan and other young pitchers give him more trade chips in a potential package deal.

"The guys are closer now," Rizzo saidd. "We see what we referred to last year as the 'next wave,' well that wave is about Major League ready in '14, whereas last year we had a little bit of a gap because of the Gio [Gonzalez] trade.

"We certainly now again have the depth to go out and acquire a player via the trade market."