Washington Nationals: filling the All-Time Nats roster

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For 15 years the Washington Nationals have made a habit of bringing in players who were past their prime. Today we fill a roster with the best of them.

Over the course of their fifteen year existence, the Washington Nationals have made a habit of signing players who were at the end of their respective careers. Most of these players made a name for themselves somewhere else then puttered out in Washington.

In most cases players were chosen for this team because they had successful seasons outside of Washington before coming to the nation’s capital to end their playing days. However, to fill out the roster, in some cases players were utility players for other teams or bench players for teams before ending their careers in Washington.

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The one criteria for a player to qualify for this team is they played their last game in major league baseball in a Washington Nationals uniform, after establishing themselves for another team prior.

I found 33 players who fit this mold so some cuts had to be made. A few of the more memorable names not to make the trip north with our fictitious franchise are Carlos Baerga, Alex Cora, Miguel Montero, and Greg Dobbs.

Baerga was well past his prime when he suited up for the Nationals in 2005, his stats aren’t even worth mentioning.

Before Cora was cheating in Houston and Boston, he was finishing his playing career with a forgettable 2011 season.

Many questioned why Montero made the team out of spring at the backup catcher spot in 2018. He went 0 for the season and was released after two weeks.

Dobbs had one hit in fourteen at-bats in 2014 before the Marlins released him, so why wouldn’t the Nats bring him in. He was 6-28 with Washington driving in two runs.

The Starting Rotation

Jeremy Hellickson, Pedro Astacio, Odalis Perez, Jason Simontacchi, Jeremy Guthrie

Hellickson is the staff ace in this rotation. His solid 2018 season led to a reunion the following year, where he didn’t fare as well. Injuries derailed him and he was left off the postseason roster, though he still gets a World Series ring. He announced his retirement at the end of the season, locking in his place on this team.

A 37-year-old Astacio made a name for himself both in Los Angeles and Colorado. He then bounced around the league some before settling in Washington in 2006. He made 17 starts and won five-game, posting an earned run average a shade under six.

The 2008 Nationals lost 102 games, yet when the season started they had hope. That hope was the opening day starter, Odalis Perez. Unfortunately Perez was a long ways from his All-Star self who won 15 games in 2002 for the Dodgers. He finished ’08 with a 7-12 record and 4.34 ERA.

Simontacchi doesn’t quite have the resume as the other starters in the rotation, only playing three years in St. Louis prior to joining the Nationals staff. He did win 11 games in 2002 for the Cards before collapsing and heading to the bullpen in 2004. He didn’t pitch for three years prior to the Nationals bringing him in for the 2007 season. 13 starts and 6 wins later, Simontacchi was out of the game for good.

The Nationals have had such great luck with pitchers not pitching for years at a time they decided to bring in Jeremy Guthrie for a whirl in 2017. He last pitched in 2015 for Kansas City and made just one start in DC, surrendering ten runs in two-thirds of an inning. His 135.00 ERA that year is a blemish on a uninspiring body of work where he led the league twice in losses.

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The Beleaguered Bullpen

Ray King, Julian Tavarez, Ron Villone, Felix Rodriguez, Joe Blanton, Dan Jennings, Brad Lidge, Jonathon Papelbon

What’s worse, saying Ray King didn’t miss too many team meals, or saying I’m not sure what is bigger Ray King or his ERA. King was a serviceable lefty specialist for many years, just not the last one he pitched in Washington. He allowed 13 baserunners in six innings and was sent packing, never to resurface on a big-league team again.

In 2009 Tavarez joined his eleventh major league franchise when he signed on with the Nationals. Tavarez finished his career with a winning record, which was not helped by the 3-7 he posted for the Nats.

Another reliever who’d been tossed around the league, the Nationals were Ron Villone’s twelfth franchise. In fact he shared a bullpen with Tavarez in ’09 and won five games at the age of 39.

Felix Rodriguez, not to be confused with K-Rod, had a 7.67 ERA for the 2006 Nationals team. This proved he wasn’t the dominant version he was earlier in his career with the San Francisco Giants. No wonder he wasn’t able to find a big league suitor the following season.

If I had a dollar for every time I screamed Joe Blanton’s name in vain. Early in his career, as a starter with the Oakland A’s, he was a pitching machine. His 2016 year out of the Dodgers bullpen was promising as well when he posted a 7-2 record with 2.48 ERA. The Nats took the bait and he rewarded them with 51 games of middling relief work.

Dan Jennings was a part of the 2019 bullpen which was one of the worst in history. He lasted eight games, was wild, and gave up runs nearly every time out. After the Nats cut him the Yankees signed him to a minors deal, then cut him before he returned to the majors. He may resurface this season, I’m thinking not.

I was a big “Lights out Lidge” fan when he was closing for the Houston Astros. Then he was an All-Star with the Phillies. Then he was 0-8 in 2009 with the Phillies. By the time 2012 came around even I knew there was nothing left in the tank. Eleven games and ten earned runs later, the Nats agreed.

Had Jonathon Papelbon not chocked out Bryce Harper in the dugout, he’d still be closing in this league. Someone hire Matt Williams to manage so he can employ Papelbon again. He infamously sent the hurler to the mound the inning after the Harper debacle so you know he’d do it again.

The Battery-mates

Ivan Rodriguez and Robert Fick

We already dismissed Miguel Montero from the team but there is another catcher I’d like to give a shout out to. Jamie Burke won’t make this team either, but he was an important emergency catcher on the 2009 Washington Nationals team. With two weeks left in the season, the Nats needed a catcher. All their guys were hurt, and they had little depth in the minors. They purchased the contract of Burke from the Seattle Mariners and he came in to have one hit in ten at-bats to end the season. He signed a minor league contract with the team in the offseason though at 38 those old legs had seen enough. Hats off to Jaimie Burke.

Ivan Rodriguez wanted to pad his Hall of Fame stats and the Washington Nationals wanted to say they employed a future Hall of Famer. Those are the only reasons I can gather this hookup was made. He did serve as a mentor to a young Wilson Ramos, but by 2010, Pudge’s 38-year-old legs had had enough as well. He inched closer to the 3000 hit mark and distanced himself a little from the 300 home run mark. Rodriguez also put an extra $6M in his pocket.

Robert Fick had a couple of decent years with the Detroit Tigers, even garnering an All-Star selection as well. By the time he reached the Washington Nationals in 2006, he was mainly a first baseman/outfielder. He did catch 26 games for the Nats, therefore, he fits on our team nicely. He provided solid defense and almost no offense but was cheap and that is what the early Nationals teams were looking for.

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Around the Diamond

Adam Lind, Dan Uggla, Stephen Drew, Wil Cordero, Tony Batista

Adam Lind hit .303 with 14 home runs in part-time duty in 2017 for the Nationals. The following season he held out for a major league deal which never came, eventually signing a minors pact with the Boston Red Sox. After 12 years and 200 homers sad to think there is no place in the game for Lind.

Dan Uggla spent several good seasons with the Florida Marlins and a few more with the Atlanta Braves. Vision problems derailed the latter part of his career and his .183 average in 120 at-bats in 2015 with the Nationals was the last action he saw in the bigs.

After tasting success early in his career with Arizona, Stephen Drew had a solid 2015 campaign with the Yankees. He spent the next two years traversing the Nationals infield with little success at the plate.

Wil Cordero began his career with the Montreal Expos before becoming too expensive to keep. He had a reunion with the Expos later then left again. The Washington Nationals decided to bring him to the team in their inaugural season, maybe to draw a connection with Expos fans. Cordero hit .118 in 29 games and was never heard from again.

Another former Expo, Tony Batista, played one season in Montreal, hitting 32 homers and driving in 110 runs. After taking a year off and playing a year in Minnesota, he was manning third base for the Washington Nationals. The power was gone and soon so was Batista.

(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

Manning the pasture

Gerardo Parra, Kevin Mench, Matt Stairs, Nate McLouth, Reed Johnson

Parra is fresh on the mind as it was his free will spirit and dugout home run dances which helped lighten the mood on the eventual World Series team last year. His days in the majors may not be over, but he has since signed a deal to play in Japan, possibly maximizing on his Baby Shark phenomenon.