The Washington Nationals have 8 potential free agents after the World Series is over. Here is who I think is staying and leaving out of this bunch:

Ivan Rodriguez: 39-year old righty swinging catcher Ivan Rodriguez played in 44 games for the Nationals last year and he was 27 for 124 (.218 avg, .604 OPS) with 14 runs scored, 2 homers and 19 RBIs. He is running on fumes now. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Alex Cora: 35-year old lefty swinging infielder Alex Cora played in 91 games for the Nationals last year and he was 35 for 156 (.224 avg, .562 OPS) with 12 runs scored, 0 homers, 6 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Laynce Nix: 30-year old lefty swinging outfielder Laynce Nix played in 124 games for the Nationals last year and he was 81 for 324 (.250 avg, .750 OPS) with 38 runs scored, 16 homers, 44 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. PREDICTION: STAYING

Jonny Gomes: 30-year old righty swinging outfielder Jonny Gomes played in 43 games for the Nationals this year and he was 19 for 93 (.204 avg, .665 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 3 homers, 12 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has played in 120 games overall last year with the Nationals & Reds and he was 65 for 311 (.209 avg, .714 OPS) with 41 runs scored, 14 homers, 43 RBIs and 7 stolen bases. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Rick Ankiel: 32-year old lefty swinging CF Rick Ankiel played in 122 games for the Nationals last year and he was 91 for 380 (.239 avg, .659 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 9 homers, 37 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Nationals are looking to upgrade in CF in 2012. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Livan Hernandez: 36-year old righty starting pitcher Livan Hernandez pitched in 29 games (all starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 8-13 with a 4.47 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The Nationals have too many good young pitchers for the rotation to bring Hernandez back. PREDICTION: LEAVING

Chien-Ming Wang: 31-year old righty starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang pitched in 11 games (all starts) for the Nationals this year and he was 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Nationals invested a lot of time and money helping Wang rehab, so he owes them a little more. PREDICTION: STAYING

Todd Coffey: 31-year old righty reliever Todd Coffey pitched in 69 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 5-1 with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Nationals would like to keep Coffey, but he might get an offer that they won’t want to match. PREDICTION: LEAVING

The Nationals finished 80-81 in 2011, which was good for 3rd place in the A.L. East, 21.5 games behind the Phillies. With that being said, there were a lot of positive signs for the Nationals as the 2011 went along. Here is a look at what really stood out to me in 2011:

TEAM MVP: 29-year old righty swinging OF/1B Mike Morse finally got a chance to show what he could do if he got to play every day. Morse played in 146 games for the Nationals in 2011 and he was 158 for 522 (.303 avg, .910 OPS) with 73 runs scored, 31 homers, 95 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. The Nationals have another building block for the offense to go along with Ryan Zimmerman.

BEST PITCHER: 26-year old righty reliever Tyler Clippard was by far the best pitcher on the Nationals in 2011. He pitched in 72 games (0 starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 3-0 with a 1.83 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. Clippard only gave up 48 hits and 26 walks in 88 1/3 innings while whiffing 104 batters and that is downright impressive.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: 25-year old righty starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman came back from major surgery to pitch his best baseball to date in 2011. He pitched in 26 games (all starts) for the Nationals last year and he was 8-11 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He only gave up 154 hits in 161 1/3 innings this year while whiffing 124 batters and only walking 31, as he was impressive.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: The Nationals signed 32-year old righty swinging RF Jayson Werth to a HUGE contract last winter. He rewarded them by playing in 150 games in which he was 130 for 561 (.232 avg, .718 OPS) with 69 runs scored, 20 homers, 58 RBIs and 19 stolen bases while whiffing 160 times! The Nationals better hope he starts putting up better numbers in 2012.