The Nationals will likely try to add a lot of pitching in free agency. They will likely target mid-level starting pitching because they have a lot of spots to fill on the staff. The Nationals will probably target righties like Pedro Martinez, Brad Penny, Braden Looper, Paul Byrd, Jon Lieber and Freddy Garcia from the right side. Lefties like Kenny Rogers, Odalis Perez and Mike Hampton could also interest the Nationals. The Nationals might have a interest in making offers for Kerry Wood or Trevor Hoffman to serve as the team’s closer in 2009. Brandon Lyon, Russ Springer, David Weathers, Juan Cruz and Kyle Farnsworth could also be considered to help bolster the bullpen from the right side. The Nationals would also like to sign 1 or 2 veteran lefties to help out in the bullpen. They will likely talk to Joe Beimel, Jeremy Affeldt, Brian Shouse, Arthur Rhodes, Darren Oliver, Dennys Reyes, Alan Embree, Will Ohman, Eddie Guardado and Trever Miller. The Nationals need to quit acting like a small market team because they aren’t one.

The Washington Nationals have remained busy as they have signed 24-year old righty swinging 1B Matt Whitney to a minor league contract. Whitney played in 129 games in AA-ball for the Cleveland Indians last season and he was 124 for 463 (.268 avg, .760 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 10 homers and 58 RBIs. Whitney will be invited to spring training as a non-roster player but he will have a hard time making the team because of the depth the Nationals have at first base.

The Nationals have re-signed 29-year old lefty swinging utility infielder Pete Orr to a minor league contract. Orr played in 49 games for the Nationals last season and he was 19 for 75 (.253 avg, .589 OPS) with 10 runs scored and 7 RBIs. Orr has now played in 320 games in his major league career and he is 116 for 444 (.261 avg, .623 OPS) with 75 runs scored, 2 homers, 25 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. This was a decent move by the Nationals as Orr is a valuable bench player.

The Nationals have acquired 24-year old lefty starting pitcher Scott Olsen and 29-year old righty swinging OF/1B Josh Willingham from the Marlins for Emilio Bonifacio, P.J. Dean and Jake Smolinski. The Nationals probably had a ski mask on when they made this trade as they robbed the Marlins. Scott Olsen will probably be one of the top 2-3 starters for the Nationals in 2009. He pitched in 33 games (all starts) for the Marlins last season and he was 8-11 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He has now pitched in 4 seasons in the major leagues covering 102 games (101 starts) in which he is 31-37 with a 4.63 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. He has a very nice upside. Josh Willingham will either start at 1B or LF in 2009 for the Nationals. He played in 102 games for the Marlins last season and he was 89 for 351 (.254 avg, .834 OPS) with 54 runs scored, 15 homers and 51 RBIs. Willingham has now played in 416 games in his major league career and he is 378 for 1,422 (.266 avg, .833 OPS) with 196 runs scored, 63 homers and 219 RBIs. He will definately help the offense for the Nationals but he’s a sub-par defender no matter where he plays.

23-year old switch hitting 2B Emilio Bonifacio was acquired by the Nationals last season from the D-Backs for reliever Jon Rauch. He played in 49 games with the D-Backs and Nationals last season and he was 41 for 169 (.243 avg, .633 OPS) with 29 runs scored, 0 homers, 14 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. In two seasons in the major leagues, Bonifacio has played in 60 games in which he was 46 for 192 (.240 avg, .628 OPS) with 31 runs scored, 0 homers, 16 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. The Nationals won’t miss him too much as they have a lot of middle infielders on the roster. 20-year old righty D.J. Dean was the #30 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He pitched in 10 games (all starts) in Rookie Ball last season and he was 4-1 with a 1.57 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He only allowed 26 hits in 46 innings last season showing what kind of stuff he has. 19-year old righty swinging Jake Smolinski was the Nationals’ #11 prospect heading into the 2008 season according to Baseball America. He played in 77 games in Rookie + A-Ball last season and he was 79 for 291 (.271 avg, .740 OPS) with 45 runs scored, 4 homers, 33 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The ownership of the Nationals must be ready to spend some cash to improve the team and this was a very good start.

The Nationals have outrighted 35-year old switch hitting 1B Dmitri Yound to AAA to open up a roster spot. Young played in 50 games for the Nationals last season and he was 42 for 150 (.280 avg, .794 OPS) with 15 runs scored, 4 homers and 10 RBIs. He has now played two seasons for the Nationals covering 186 games in which he is 189 for 610 (.310 avg) with 72 runs scored, 17 homers and 84 RBIs. Young will come to spring training and win a job just like he did in 2006.