Nationals Team Report

INSIDE PITCH

Only a year ago, the Nationals could barely convince any free agents to come to Washington.

But with a spate of additions in the last month, the Nationals are perhaps realizing they’ve turned an important corner and convinced players around the sport good things are happening in the nation’s capital.

Since the winter meetings wrapped, Washington has signed future Hall of Fame catcher Ivan Rodriguez(notes) and All-Star right-hander Jason Marquis(notes) to two-year contracts, won a wide-open derby to land closer Matt Capps(notes) and convinced veterans Eddie Guardado(notes) and Eric Bruntlett(notes) to sign minor league deals that included invitations to spring training.

The Nationals still have a long way to go after back-to-back 100-loss seasons, but they’ve managed to draw some name players to town for the first time, a key step toward regaining some respectability.

“There’s a positive momentum,” general manager Mike Rizzo said. “People see what we’re trying to do. People see that we’re bringing in some veteran presence with a core of some very good young players. They also see these major league free agents, like Pudge Rodriguez or Adam Dunn(notes) who have the option to go wherever they want to go, have chosen to come to Washington, D.C. That makes a statement. I think it’s a statement of where the franchise is headed.”

Marquis, who signed a two-year, $15 million contract, admitted he’s been impressed with the commitment the Nationals have made to improvement over the past six months, beginning with last summer’s signing of top draft pick Stephen Strasburg(notes) to a record-setting deal.

“I follow baseball; I’m a baseball fan,” the right-hander said. “I follow teams—what direction they’re going in, what moves they make, what they’re looking for. They’re in a phase where they’ve gone out and made the improvements they need to become a winning team.”

NOTES, QUOTES

—rhp M  att Capps signed a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Nationals, and he will enter spring training as the odds-on favorite to serve as closer. Capps, who was non-tendered by the Pirates on Dec. 12 after a disappointing 2009, saved 66 games over the past three seasons and was coveted by more than a dozen other clubs. Washington won out in part because of the promise of a chance to close. The Nationals non-tendered RHP Mike MacDougal(notes) and have no other bona fide closer on the roster, though recently acquired RHP Brian Bruney(notes) will get a chance to beat out Capps for the job.

• INF/OF Eric Bruntlett signed a minor league contract and was given an invitation to spring training. Bruntlett is a career .231 hitter in parts of seven seasons with the Astros and Phillies, but his true value lies in his ability to play any position in the infield or outfield. If he makes the roster, he’ll serve as a utility man, and he’ll provide insurance at shortstop if rookie Ian Desmond(notes) isn’t ready and at second base if Cristian Guzman(notes) struggles with the transition from shortstop.

• 1B Josh Whitesell(notes) signed a minor league contract and received an invitation to spring training. The 27-year-old is a former Nationals farmhand who was claimed off waivers by the Diamondbacks in 2008 and wound up hitting .200 with two homers and 15 RBIs in limited action the last two seasons. Whitesell has little chance of making Washington’s opening-day roster, but he’ll provide some insurance at Class AAA in case something happens to 1B Adam Dunn.

• LHP Ross Detwiler(notes) hopes to parlay his strong September into a spot in the Nationals’ opening-day rotation. The former first-round draft pick struggled in his early-season big-league debut but came back strong later in the season to post a 1.90 ERA in five outings (four starts). The key: Detwiler trusted his stuff and wasn’t preoccupied with trying to earn his first major league win (it finally came in his 13th career start). He’ll be given a chance to earn one of several open spots in the rotation next spring, hoping to continue the success he showed in September.

• OF Elijah Dukes(notes) figures to retain his starting job entering spring training, but there will be pressure on the talented-but-inconsistent right fielder to bring his game to another level and secure that job long term. Dukes wound up hitting .250 with eight homers and 58 RBIs in 107 games last season. Particularly striking was his decline in power after hitting 13 homers in nearly 100 fewer at-bats the previous year. Dukes worked hard late in the season on controlling his swing and not chasing pitches out of the strike zone, and the Nationals are hopeful that will translate into more consistent production in 2010.

By The Numbers:   24—Stolen bases by Nyjer Morgan(notes) as a National in 2009, more than twice as many as anyone else on the roster despite the fact he played only 49 games with Washington.

Quote To Note:   “I have to try to teach these kids to be strong mentally. If they are strong mentally, they are going to last in the major leagues a long time.” —LHP Eddie Guardado, a 39-year-old reliever who signed a minor league contract with the Nationals, hoping to make the roster out of spring training.

ROSTER REPORT

The Nationals lost 100-plus games for the second consecutive season but feel as if they’re in a better position now than they were a year ago because they’ve identified a core group of long-term pieces that includes Ryan Zimmerman(notes), Adam Dunn, Nyjer Morgan, Stephen Strasburg and John Lannan(notes). They bolstered their young roster by adding veteran C Ivan Rodriguez and RHP Jason Marquis.

Biggest Needs:   The Nationals needed pitching, and plenty of it. They had the majors’ highest ERA in 2009, and though they’ve got some intriguing young arms in John Lannan, Ross Detwiler and Craig Stammen(notes), they desperately needed a quality veteran or two in their rotation. The signing of RHP Jason Marquis to a two-year deal was the first step toward addressing that problem. Washington bolstered the bullpen by adding RHP Matt Capps and LHP Eddie Guardado. The team hopes to acquire a defensively gifted middle infielder.

Arrivals:   C Ivan Rodriguez (free agent from Rangers), RHP Brian Bruney (trade with Yankees), LHP Doug Slaten(notes) (claimed off waivers from Diamondbacks), RHP Jason Marquis (free agent from Rockies), LHP Eddie Guardado (minor league free agent from Rangers), RHP Matt Capps (free agent from Pirates), INF Eric Bruntlett (minor league free agent from Phillies), 1B Josh Whitesell (minor league free agent from Diamondbacks).

Departures:   RHP Saul Rivera(notes) (free agent, signed minor league deal with Indians), C Josh Bard(notes) (free agent, signed minor league deal with Mariners).

Free Agents:   OF Austin Kearns(notes), 1B Dmitri Young(notes), LHP Ron Villone(notes), RHP Livan Hernandez(notes), RHP Mike MacDougal (non-tendered).

The Nationals didn’t pick up 2010 options on either Kearns or Young and will welcome the money saved by letting those two underperforming veterans walk. Hernandez is the most likely of the group to return, but it would only be on a minimal deal. Villone is looking elsewhere for employment.

Arbitration-eligible:   RHP Jason Bergmann(notes), RHP Brian Bruney, LHP Sean Burnett(notes), C Jesus Flores(notes), C Wil Nieves(notes), OF Josh Willingham(notes).

Willingham, Bergmann and Burnett should all get modest raises in 2010.

In Limbo:   The Nationals would like to move INF Cristian Guzman, whose skills have diminished and who is due to make $8 million. But it will be tough to find another team willing to take on that contract, so the club might have to settle for moving the veteran to second base.

Medical Watch:  

C Jesus Flores (right shoulder surgery in September 2009, arthroscopic right elbow surgery in October 2009) will be cutting it close to be ready for the start of the 2010 season.

LHP Scott Olsen(notes) (left shoulder surgery in July 2009) had a torn labrum repaired, and he had begun throwing off a mound by November.

SS Cristian Guzman (arthroscopic right shoulder surgery in October 2009) is expected to be 100 percent well in advance of spring training.

OF Nyjer Morgan (broken left wrist) was hurt in late August, but he was healing nicely at the end of the season. He’ll be 100 percent for spring training.

OF/INF Willie Harris(notes) (strained right oblique) was injured on the second-to-last day of the season and will need some time this winter to recover.

RHP Jordan Zimmermann(notes) (Tommy John elbow surgery in July 2009) won’t be ready until late 2010 at the earliest.

RHP Craig Stammen (bone chips in right elbow) missed the season’s final month but will be healed well in advance of spring training.

RHP Mike MacDougal (right hip surgery in October 2009) should be ready for spring training.

RHP Stephen Strasburg (dislocated left knee) won’t need surgery. The Nationals said he should be OK by spring training.