The Nationals have signed 26-year old lefty swinging outfielder Xavier Paul to a minor league deal. Paul played in 128 games for the Pirates & Dodgers last year and he was 62 for 243 (.255 avg, .638 OPS) with 30 runs scored, 2 homers, 20 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. He has now played in 183 games in his first three years in the majors and he is 93 for 378 (.246 avg, .629 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 3 homers, 32 RBIs and 19 stolen bases. Paul will get a shot to compete for a bench job in spring training.

The Washington Nationals have signed 38-year old righty swinging outfielder Mike Cameron to a minor league deal. Cameron played in 78 games for the Marlins and Red Sox last year and he was 48 for 237 (.203 avg, .643 OPS) with 27 runs scored, 9 homers, 27 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,955 games in his first 17 years in the majors and he is 1,700 of 6,839 (.249 avg, .782 OPS) with 1,064 runs scored, 278 homers, 968 RBIs and 297 stolen bases. Cameron will likely win a job on the bench for the Nationals in 2011.

UPDATE: (2/19/2012) - Mike Cameron has decided to retire from Major League Baseball.

The Nationals have signed 27-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS Andres Blanco to a minor league deal. Blanco played in 36 games for the Rangers last year and he was 17 for 76 (.224 avg, .605 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 2 homers and 3 RBIs. He has now played in 235 games in his first six years in the majors and he is 151 of 591 (.255 avg, .634 OPS) with 65 runs scored, 3 homers, 47 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Blanco is going to have a good shot of winning a job on the Nationals’ bench next spring.

UPDATE: (3/31/2012) - The Nationals released Andres Blanco and he was quickly snapped up by the Phillies.

The Nationals have signed 35-year old righty swinging outfielder Jason Michaels to a minor league deal. Michaels played in 89 games for the Astros last year and he was 31 for 156 (.199 avg, .551 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 2 homers, 10 RBIs and 1 stolen base. He has now played in 1,031 games in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 613 of 2,332 (.263 avg, .742 OPS) with 332 runs scored, 59 homers, 299 RBIs and 22 stolen bases. Michaels will get a shot to make the Nationals’ roster as a bench player next spring.

UPDATE: (3/29/2012) - The Nationals have released Jason Michaels.

UPDATE: (4/2/2012) - The Nationals have re-signed Jason Michaels to a minor league deal and he will start the 2012 season in AAA-ball.

The Nationals have signed 32-year old righty reliever Jeff Fulchino to a minor league deal. He pitched in 39 games (0 starts) for the Astros & Padres last year and he was 1-4 with a 5.71 ERA and a 1.70 WHIP. Fulchino has now pitched in 163 games (0 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he is 9-10 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. He will get a shot to win a job in the Nationals’ bullpen next spring.