Original Draft Series – Team #13: Washington Nationals

For those that missed the guidelines I am using for this series of posts, you can find them here.

Team #13: Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos)

General Managers(since 1994)

Kevin Malone (1994-1995): 140-118
Jim Beattie (1996-2001): 434-538
Omar Minaya (2002-2004): 233-253
Jim Bowden (2005-2008): 287-282
Mike Rizzo (2009-Current): 59-103

Team Performance

Playoffs			Division Finish
WC	League	Playoff App	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
0	0	0	1	2	0	6	7

All information is drawn from Baseball Reference.

Position	Name	Acquired	Years with Org.	Stats with Organization	Left?
C	Brian Schneider	1995 – 5th Rd	12	757 gm, .252/.323/.377, 47 HR, 294 RBI	Traded to NYM – 11/30/07
1B	Geoff Blum	1994 – 7th Rd	7	317 gm, .254/.323/.409, 28 HR, 113 RBI, 11 SB	Traded to HOU – 3/12/02
2B	Brandon Phillips	1999 – 2nd Rd	3	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to CLE – 6/27/02
3B	Ryan Zimmerman	2005 – 1st Rd (4)	5	1 All Star Appearance, 1 Gold Glove, 1 Silver Slugger 693 gm, .286/.351/.483, 108 HR, 416 RBI, 20 SB	Currently with Org.
SS	Orlando Cabrera	Int’l FA – 1993	11	1 Gold Glove 904 gm, .267/.315/.405, 66 HR, 381 RBI, 93 SB	Traded to BOS – 7/31/04
LF	Jason Bay	2000 – 22nd Rd	2	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to NYM – 3/24/02
CF	Grady Sizemore	2000 – 3rd Rd	2	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to CLE – 6/27/02
RF	Vladimir Guerrero	Int’l FA – 1993	10	4 All Star Appearances, 3 Silver Sluggers 1004 gm, .323/.390/.588, 234 HR, 702 RBI, 123 SB	Left via FA – 10/27/03
DH	Milton Bradley	1996 – 2nd Rd	5	109 gm, .222/.288/.332, 3 HR, 34 RBI, 9 SB	Traded to CLE – 7/31/01
SP	Cliff Lee	2000 – 4th Rd	2	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to CLE – 6/27/02
SP	Javier Vazquez	1994 – 5th Rd	9	64-68, 4.16 ERA, 1229.1 IP, 1076 K, 331 BB, 1.274 WHIP	Traded to NYY – 12/16/03
SP	Stephen Strasburg	2009 – 1st Rd (1)	1	5-2, 2.32 ERA, 75 K, 15 BB, 1.067 WHIP	Currently with Org.
SP	John Lannan	2005 – 11th Rd	5	22-35, 4.19 ERA, 498 IP, 240 K, 192 BB, 1.434 WHIP	Currently with Org.
SP	Armando Galarraga	Int’l FA – 1998	7	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Traded to TEX – 12/8/05
RP	Craig Stammen	2005 – 12th Rd	5	6-11, 5.29 ERA, 199 IP, 97 K, 51 BB, 1.372 WHIP	Currently with Org.
RP	Miguel Batista	Int’l FA – 1988	3+1	12-15, 4.54 ERA, 333 IP, 232 K, 153 BB, 1.523 WHIP	Currently with Org.
RP	Ross Detwiler	2007 – 1st Rd (6)	3	1-7, 4.71 ERA, 48 K, 36 BB, 1.568 WHIP	Currently with Org.
RP	Marco Estrada	2005 – 6th Rd	4	0-1, 7.20 ERA, 20 IP, 19 K, 9 BB, 1.600 WHIP	Selected by MIL – 2/3/10
RP	Collin Balester	2004 – 4th Rd	6	4-11, 5.85 ERA, 112.1 IP, 72 K, 42 BB, 1.513 WHIP	Currently with Org.
CL	Drew Storen	2009 – 1st Rd (10)	1	2-2, 2.73 ERA, 29.2 IP, 26 K, 14 BB, 1.281 WHIP	Currently with Org.
BN	Mark Grudzielanek	1991 – 11th Rd	7	1 All Star Appearance 492 gm, .281/.320/.378, 19 HR, 161 RBI, 77 SB	Traded to LAD – 7/31/98
BN	Roger Bernadina	Int’l FA – 2001	9	102 gm, .255/.317/.374, 6 HR, 29 RBI, 12 SB	Currently with Org.
BN	Jamey Carroll	1996 – 14th Rd	9	336 gm, .269/.344/.338, 2 HR, 54 RBI, 14 SB	Purchased by COL – 2/11/06
BN	Wilson Valdez	Int’l FA – 1997	5	No Major League Appearances with Org.	Selected by FLA – 3/29/02
BN	Ian Desmond	2004 – 3rd Rd	6	115 gm, .257/.296/.418, 10 HR, 54 RBI, 10 SB	Currently with Org.

June Amateur Draft

For as bad as this team has been overall in the last 15 years, you would think that their first round picks would have developed a lot better. Stephen Strasburg gives a lot of hope for the organization, and Bryce Harper also will be there eventually. But the draft has been a lot of what could have been in Montreal if the ownership and the general managers could have held onto allow the team develop instead. Look at the list of players who made All Star teams for other teams: Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore, Milton Bradley, Jason Bay, Brandon Phillips. This is a team that should have more to show for its draft than it does.

International Free Agency

The Nationals have done a lot better in international free agency than a lot of the other teams have done so far. Clearly, the cream of this crop has been Vladimir Guerrero. If only they had been under new ownership when he became eligible to be a free agent…. But the Nationals also had Orlando Cabrera and Miguel Batista, who have both had success in the Majors. While there aren’t a lot of players on this list who came this way, the quality is what makes me believe it is a better class.

Overall Grade

B. This is an organization that has definitely had some talent go through. This was one of the first teams where I was able to build a starting roster with a substantial amount of All-Stars, albeit not with the Nationals. The only weaknesses in the starting lineup to me were at C and 1B, but as good as the rest of the lineup is more than made up for it. The starting rotation is anchored by a pair of aces (Lee, Vazquez) and an ace-in-waiting with Strasburg. The only real weakness on the pitching side to me is the bullpen, which is mostly unproven or very raw.

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Free Agency Review – C/1B/3B

All week, I will be recapping the free agency signings this offseason, by position. Today’s group: Catchers and Corner Infielders (1B, 3B)

All salary data from ESPN.com’s Free Agent Tracker
All 2011 free agent information from MLB Trade Rumors’ 2011 Free Agent List

Catchers
Name	Old	New	Years	Total $
Bengie Molina	SF	SF	1	$4.5 M
Miguel Olivo	KC	COL	1	$2.5 M
Ivan Rodriguez	TEX	WAS	2	$6 M
Jason Kendall	MIL	KCR	2	$6 M
Gregg Zaun	TAM	MIL	1	$2.15 M
John Buck	KC	TOR	1	$2 M
Brian Schneider	NYM	PHI	2	$2.75 M
Yorvit Torrealba	COL	SD	1	$1.25 M

Notable Remaining Free Agents: Rod Barajas (TOR)

There really wasn’t a lot of available jobs for catchers this offseason, as realistically 5 jobs were vacated by free agents. Bengie Molina probably did the best, in my opinion, as he got the highest annual salary ($4.5 M), and managed to go to a team that has a very good prospect waiting in the wings. Of some concern was the fact that Molina had an even better offer on the table from the Mets, and turned it down anyway. Ivan Rodriguez was probably my favorite signing for a specific team, as he should be a real help to the Nationals rotation and lineup with his experience, and his winning track record. Nearly all of these signings are of the low-risk, high-potential variety, and no really big contracts either.

First Basemen
Name	Old	New	Years	Total $
Adam LaRoche	ATL	ARI	1	$6 M
Aubrey Huff	DET	SF	1	$3 M
Nick Johnson	FLA	NYY	1	$5.75 M
Troy Glaus	STL	ATL	1	$1.75 M
Jason Giambi	COL	COL	1	$1.75 M

Notable Remaining Free Agents: Russell Branyan (SEA), Carlos Delgado (NYM), Hank Blalock (TEX)

This year’s crop of free agent first basemen really didn’t have a lot of high-end talent, with Branyan and LaRoche probably having the best seasons of any of the players available. As a result, we saw exclusively 1 year contracts for most players, and some still looking for work. Branyan is really the biggest surprise, although his published demands early on during the offseason may have scared away a lot of teams. Next year’s class of 1B free agents is extremely strong, including Albert Pujols, Lance Berkman, Derrek Lee, and Carlos Pena. This may also have contributed to the lack of long contracts, as teams may not want to tie up the position for next season’s bonanza. Another group of lower-risk, higher-potential contracts that if they don’t work, will not really cause any problems for the teams that signed them.

Third Basemen
Name	Old	New	Years	Total $
Mark DeRosa	STL	SF	2	$12 M
Adam Kennedy	OAK	WAS	1	$1.25 M
Chone Figgins	LAA	SEA	4	$36 M
Adrian Beltre	SEA	BOS	1	$10 M
Melvin Mora	BAL	COL	1	$1.3 M
Garrett Atkins	COL	BAL	1	$4.5 M
Pedro Feliz	PHI	HOU	1	$4.5 M
Miguel Tejada	HOU	BAL	1	$6 M

Notable Remaining Free Agents: Joe Crede (MIN)

3rd base actually had some solid free agent signings, with some big dollars as well. Beltre got the highest annual salary at $10 M from the Red Sox. That contract actually seemed like a bit of a surprise, as the Red Sox still have Mike Lowell who will now be relegated to bench duty. Figgins was the cream of the crop of this group, and got a well-deserved $36 M contract from the Mariners. The other signing I really found interesting was the Miguel Tejada signing. Tejada has never played 3B before, but will be moving to the position in his return to the Orioles. It looks like a really good value signing for the Orioles, and provides some more veteran leadership in the Orioles clubhouse.