Of course, I don’t know why a team that ought to be building with youth added to its roster Jerry Hairston, Jr. (34), Laynce Nix (30), Alex Cora (35) and Matt Stairs (43). Sorry, but none of these guys was a star in his prime anyway. (Stairs is a pinch-hitter only. And the Nats have that luxury why??)
Plus there’s new starting center-fielder Rick Ankiel, who makes for a good baseball story--former pitcher who lost his mojo then resurfaced as a position player with legit power--but is 31 and has declined with the bat since his impressive comeback in ’07-’08.
Even high-priced off-season free-agent signee Jayson Werth is 31, and the team will be spending--take a deep breath now--$126M over 7 years on the guy. That’s $18M a year, folks. Ya think Werth’s gonna be worth that when he’s 35? Or 36? How about when he’s 38? It's nuts, I tell ya.
In the meantime, Nats management dumped or traded proven slugger Adam Dunn and decent power guy Josh Willingham, who are 31 and 32, respectively. (Both hit homers in their opening day games for their new teams, by the way.)
I guess all these moves have to do with money and stuff--or presumably someone’s incredibly brilliant assessment of talent. I’d still rather have Dunn than Werth. But whatever.
Just for fun, let’s track management’s team-building by following the former Nats they’ve let go to other rosters in the past few years. Did they show foresight in these moves? Or folly? Hard to know, but the names below certainly could be comprised by someone’s major league roster.
Where Are They Now?
Luis Ayala--The right-hander’s promise of 2003-5 had never been fulfilled. Was with the Nats organization up to 2008, then went journeyman. He’s with the Yankees now, though.
Miguel Batista--Journeyman starter/reliever had his best ERA in seven years with the Nats in 2010. He’s 40, and signed with the Cards in the off-season.
Emilio Bonifacio--Briefly with the Nats in ’08 after a trade with Arizona, he’s now with Florida. He has skills as an infielder, but his bat is off and on. Still only 25.
Marlon Byrd--Let go by the Nats in ’05, Byrd has established himself as a quality ballplayer and was an All-Star in 2010 for the Cubs.
Matt Capps--Acquired from Pittsburgh in 2010, Capps had a career year as a reliever, posting 42 saves, but not before the Nats traded him to Minnesota to acquire catching prospect Wilson Ramos.
Jamey Carroll--Since the Nats gave up on him in 2005, Carroll has carved out for himself a very nice niche as a dependable utilityman and sometime starter. A late-bloomer, he’s now 37, but the career .276 BA is legit, and he’s played well with Colorado, Cleveland and now the Dodgers.
Adam Dunn--Signed with the White Sox as a free agent, after the Nats wouldn’t sign him as a free agent. Should have a monster season as a DH with Pale Hose.
Alberto Gonzalez--Traded to Padres at start of 2011 season. Decent fielder, versatile, .253 career hitter. Not yet 28, but never established himself as a first-stringer.
Joel Hanrahan--Nats kept waiting for this guy to do something really great with his fastball, as a starter or reliever. They gave up and traded him to Pittsburgh. Jury’s still out, but he’s 29 already.
Willie Harris--A semi-fan-favorite for three seasons, Harris never hit better than .251 for the Nats. They expected more. Occasional power, a versatile guy in the field, Harris is now a Met. He’ll probably exact his revenge sometime this season.
Austin Kearns--Starting left-fielder in the home opener for the Indians. In truth, if Kearns is your starting anything, your team is in big trouble. No one misses him.
Adam Kennedy--Unknown by many: Kennedy is a career .275 hitter and has a World Series ring. Spent 2010 with the Nats, then signed a free-agent deal with Seattle.
Ryan Langerhans--It may be a mystery how Langerhans has managed to have a nine-year MLB career, but when you’ve spent the past five years with the Nats and the Mariners, never hitting more than .234, some clarity emerges. Langerhans hasn’t looked promising since 2005 with the Braves. But he’s getting a pension, and that’s nothing to sneeze at.
Mike MacDougal--Another journeyman pitcher, he actually had a strong ’09 for the Nats. He just keeps moving from pillar to post, and the Dodgers like him currently.
Lastings Milledge--Nats dumped him off on the Pirates a couple years ago, claiming he was a head case. He put up respectable batting averages for the Bucs (.277, .291), and earned a roster spot with the expected-to-contend White Sox this year. Still only 25.
Nyjer Morgan--When the Nats acquired him from the Bucs in ’09, it was presumed that the team had found a centerfielder and leadoff hitter for a solid five years. Morgan has some speed but no power, and he didn’t draw that many walks for a leadoff man, and he had some weird adventures in the outfield. Suddenly he looked expendable. So right before the 2011 season, he was traded to the Brewers for a minor leaguer named Cutter Dykstra plus some cash. Hope it was a LOT of cash, ’cause Dykstra’s .274/.374/.383 aggregate line in the low minors, plus his anemic power numbers and tons of Ks, reek of bad prospect. He’s only 21, though. And he’s versatile, having played six positions in his three years. Alas, that probably means he’ll never anchor one single position. If only he were Lenny Dykstra.
Wil Nieves--A catcher who can’t hit, Nieves signed with the Brewers in the off-season.
Pete Orr--Had stints with the ’08 and ’09 Nats. It’s always interesting when a team that went 69-93 finds useless a guy who hooks on with a team that went 97-65 (Phillies). Orr’s a journeyman infielder, sorta like Alex Cora or Jerry Hairston, Jr. Only younger.
Jon Rauch--The 6’10” former Morehead State Eagle is 32 now, pretty much a journeyman, but has had a solid career as both a long and short reliever. With the Blue Jays currently.
Brian Schneider--With the Expos/Nats for parts of eight seasons, the journeyman catcher was a Met and is now a Phillie. He’s a .250 career hitter with occasional power and is a reliable receiver. At 34, you can at least say he’s a lot younger than Pudge Rodriguez.
Alfonso Soriano--He hit 46 homers for the ’06 Nats, who couldn’t (or wouldn’t) pay the price to sign him in free agency. Now he’s a gazillionaire with the Cubs battling age (35) and occasional injury. He’s still a step up from Roger Bernadina.
Josh Willingham--When healthy, a solid bat with consistent if unspectacular power, and a run producer. Traded to the A’s this past off-season, and he’s hitting cleanup for them.
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