Righty starting pitcher Steve Rogers spent 13 season pitching for the Expos in which he made the All-Star team five times. Rogers pitched in 399 games (393 starts) for the Expos and he was 158-152, with 2 saves, a 3.17 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. 1982 was Rogers’ best season for the Expos as he was second in the Cy Young voting. Rogers pitched in 35 games (all starts) for the Expos in 1982 and he was 19-8 with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Rogers is all over the franchise’s record books. He is the Expos/Nationals all-time leader in game started (393), wins (158), complete games (129), shutouts (37), strikeouts (1,621) and innings pitched (2,837 2/3). Rogers is also #2 all-time in Expos/Nationals history in games pitched (399), #8 in ERA (3.17) and #10 in WHIP (1.23). While most of the fans of the Nationals never saw Rogers I did and let me assure you that he was even better than his numbers show.

30-year old lefty swinging Adam Dunn will likely start for the Nationals at 1B unless they make some more moves. Dunn made 8 errors in only 67 games for the Nationals last season and that is way too many. But, Dunn makes up for his defense with his bat. Dunn played in 159 games for the Nationals last season and he was 146 for 546 (.267 avg, .927 OPS) with 81 runs scored, 38 homers and 105 RBIs. He did whiff 177 times last season but he also walked 116 times which pretty much negated the K’s. Look for Dunn to put up huge power numbers again for the Nationals this year.

28-year old lefty swinging Chris Duncan will back up Dunn if he makes the team. He played in 87 games for the Cardinals last season and he was 59 for 260 (.227 avg, .687 OPS) with 25 runs scored, 5 homers and 32 RBIs. Duncan is also a sub par defender at 1B as he made 2 errors in only 6 games there for the Cardinals last season.

27-year old lefty swinging Josh Whitesell has a good chance of making the Nationals if Adam Dunn is the starting 1B. That is because of his defense as he only made 1 error in 30 games for the D-Backs last season. He looks like a natural defensive replacement for Dunn late in games. He played in 46 games for the D-Backs last season and he was 21 for 108 (.194 avg, .633 OPS) with 7 runs scored, 1 homer and 14 RBIs.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 1B IN 2010: B

The Nationals have signed 38-year old righty reliever/starter Miguel Batista to a minor league deal. Batista pitched in 56 games (0 starts) for the Mariners last season and he was 7-4 with 1 save, a 4.04 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. Batista has now pitched in 530 games (237 starts) in which he is 95-108 with 39 saves, a 4.54 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. It never hurts to bring in experienced arms so I like this move for the Nationals. It will be interesting to see if the Nationals think of Batista as a reliever or a starter because he has a lot of experience doing both.

The Nationals have designated 26-year old righty reliever Marco Estrada for assignment to make room on the roster for Tyler Walker. Estrada pitched in 4 games (1 start) for the Nationals last season and he was 0-1 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. He pitched in 15 games (1 start) in his two years in Washington and he was 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Nationals won’t miss Estrada too much as they have really improved the bullpen over the winter.

UPDATE: The Brewers have claimed Estrada off waivers.

The Nationals have signed 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Chuck James to a minor league deal. He missed all of the 2009 season as he was rehabbing from rotator cuff and labrum surgery that he had in September 2008. James has now pitched in 64 games (55 starts) in his major league career and he is 24-19 with a 4.48 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Reports had James throwing 88-90 mph in his workout with the Nationals. James was a good pitcher not too long ago with the Braves so this was a risk worth taking.