The Nationals have signed 24-year old righty swinging shortstop Brent Greer to a minor league deal. Greer played in 64 games in A-ball last year and he was 55 of 223 (.247 avg, .665 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 4 homers, 27 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. He has now played in 240 games in his first three years in the minors and he is 222 of 892 (.249 avg, .667 OPS) with 113 runs scored, 14 homers, 88 RBIs and 15 stolen bases. Greer will likely start out playing in A-ball for the Nationals.

The Nationals have signed 28-year old lefty starting pitcher Zach Duke to a minor league deal. Duke pitched in 21 games (9 starts) for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 3-4 with 1 save, a 4.93 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP. He has now pitched in 181 games (168 starts) in his first seven years in the majors and he is 48-74 with 1 save, a 4.56 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP. The Nationals are likely going to try to stash Duke in AAA-ball as insurance for the starting rotation, and I like the move.

The Nationals have signed 33-year old righty swinging OF/1B Xavier Nady to a minor league deal. Nady played in 82 games for the Diamondbacks last year and he was 51 of 206 (.248 avg, .646 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 35 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. Nady has now played in 880 games in his first 10 years in the majors and he is 764 of 2,780 (.275 avg, .766 OPS) with 349 runs scored, 97 homers, 393 RBIs and 18 stolen bases. Nady will try to make the team as a bench player the rest of the way in spring training.

The Nationals have signed 32-year old lefty reliever Mike Schultz to a minor league deal. Schultz pitched in 19 games (0 starts) in Japan last year and he was 0-0 with a 1.06 ERA and a 1.94 WHIP. He pitched in 158 games (0 starts) in four years in Japan and he was 8-8 with 8 saves, a 2.55 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Schultz has appeared in the majors back in 2007 with the Diamondbacks. He pitched in 1 game (0 starts) for the D-Backs in 2007 and he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Schultz might get a shot to win a job in the Nationals’ pen this spring.

The Nationals have signed 26-year old righty starter/reliever Mitch Atkins to a minor league deal. Atkins pitched in 3 games (all starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 0-0 with a 8.44 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. He also pitched in 23 games (all starts) in A+AA+AAA-ball last year in which he was 4-10 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. Atkins has now pitched in 10 games (3 starts) in his first three years in the majors and he is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. Look for Atkins to start the 2012 season in AAA-ball for the Nationals.