Ian Desmond was the last active member of the Montreal/Washington franchise. He was drafted in the third round of the 2004 draft by the Expos out of Sarasota High in Florida, turning down a scholarship offer to the University of South Florida to turn pro.
The right-handed hitter, after some struggles in the low minors, made his Major League debut with Washington in 2009 and became the regular shortstop for the Nationals the next year.
But after three Silver Slugger awards from 2012-14, Desmond and the Nationals parted ways following last season as Desmond became a free agent. While he has not signed with anyone as of Feb. 20 – perhaps the biggest surprise of the offseason – the Nationals have several options at shortstop.
But who ends up starting there on April 4 in Atlanta is certainly not a given under new manager Dusty Baker, who takes over after Matt Williams was fired on Oct. 5 after two seasons.
The favorite is Danny Espinosa, a third-round pick of the Nationals in 2008 out of Long Beach State. Espinosa has been a regular second baseman for Washington for parts of the past five seasons. The switch-hitter batted .240 with 13 homers in 367 at bats last season.
Espinosa noted at NatsFest in December that he was drafted as a shortstop out of college. He is an elite defender at second and short, and his arm at short appears to be better than that of Desmond.
Other candidates to see time at shortstop include Stephen Drew, who was signed as a free agent in December, and Trea Turner, who made his big league debut in August and hit .225 in 40 at-bats. Turner appears to be the shortstop of the future but Espinosa could get the nod at shortstop as free agent signee Daniel Murphy takes over at second.
“I’m just going to play. Everybody’s just going to play. Whoever wins it, whoever’s there, I think we’ll have a pretty good team this year,” Turner told reporters in Florida.
“We love competition,” Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said at NatsFest in December. “Trea is gonna come to spring training with the rest of the big leaguers and compete for a job at shortstop. We love the depth that we’ve created there. His talent level is extremely high and we’ve got extremely high hopes for him. We’re gonna develop him the way that he should be developed.”
Desmond was also a leader in the clubhouse and Bryce Harper praised his advice. Espinosa is much quieter behind the scenes, so the Nationals will need other veterans to step up.
Of course another new face will be Baker, the northern California wine grower and music lover who is back in the dugout after a two-year absence from the majors.
Baker has spent 20 years as a manager with the Giants, Cubs and Reds. He said this may be the most talent he has ever had, listing MVP Harper, pitcher Max Scherzer and others.
The Nationals, who won the division in 2012 and 2014, look for a return to the playoffs after finishing second to the New York Mets in 2015.
“That is why I was excited about coming here,” Baker said of the talented roster. “They have talent here. They have young talent here. I am here to do more with more. They have a mixture of youth and experience at the same time. I have always liked that formula.”
The Nationals can only hope it is a winning formula as they try to win a postseason series for the first time in their history.
NOTES, QUOTES
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH: Besides the one at SS, there is a good bet Michael A. Taylor and Ben Revere could compete to be the starting CF. Taylor made his big league debut in August, 2014 and got to see a lot of action in center in 2015 as veteran CF Denard Span (now with San Francisco) missed a lot of time due to injuries. Taylor flashed his power and speed but also struck out too much – 158 times in 138 games – to be an ideal leadoff hitter, and he hit No. 8 in the order many times. Revere, which much more experience, was acquired in a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays in January for former closer Drew Storen. Ironically, Revere and Span are good friends from their days in Minnesota. Taylor also saw action in left field last season while veteran Jayson Werth missed time with injuries, and Taylor could see time there again this year if Werth doesn’t hold up or needs a break. An outfield of Taylor in LF, Revere in CF and Bryce Harper in RF would cover a lot of ground, though Revere admits his arm is a weakness. Revere led the National League in hits with 184 in 2014 and then hit .306 with 31 steals last year with the Phillies and Blue Jays. Taylor hit .229 with 14 homers in Washington.
ROOKIE WATCH: The Nationals, for the most part, are a veteran group built to win on an annual basis. The position rookie most likely to make the Opening Day roster is Trea Turner, the former North Carolina State standout who was a first-round pick of the San Diego Padres in 2014. He was acquired by Washington last June as the player to be named later in a trade that also netted the Nationals young pitcher Joe Ross. Turner spent time at Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse before he was called up to Washington in August. He has an elite speed and came up through the minors as a shortstop, though he did play second at Syracuse and Washington in 2015. He appears headed to Syracuse to start the year, but if Danny Espinosa or Stephen Drew get hurts Turner could be in Atlanta for the opener April 4. Turner hit .225 in 40 at bats with Washington last season.
COMEBACK TRAIL: Veteran pitcher Bronson Arroyo, 38, was signed as a non-roster player to a minor league deal with a spring training invite. He comes to camp with a shot at making the starting rotation, perhaps getting the No. 5 role over rookie Joe Ross. Arroyo had Tommy John ligament replacement surgery in July, 2014 and pitched in Cincinnati from 2006 to 2013, spending part of that time with current Washington manager Dusty Baker. Arroyo last pitched in the majors with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014, posting a mark of 7-4 with an ERA of 4.08 in 14 starts before he tore an ulnar collateral ligament. He pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2000-02 and with the Boston Red Sox from 2003-05, and he was part of the 2004 team that won the World Series. “I feel good,” Arroyo told reporters in Florida. “The question is can you take the pounding of 110 pitches per start.
PLAYER NOTES
–OF Bryce Harper answered any remaining critics in 2015, as he stayed healthy the entire year and put up huge numbers as the unanimous MVP in the National League. He had 42 homers to tie for first in the league and he led the majors in several categories, including on-base average (.460), slugging (.649) and WAR (9.5). His dugout scuffle with closer Jonathan Papelbon in September shouldn’t tarnish his reputation as perhaps the best young player in the game.
–OF Jayson Werth has two years left on his contract and some wonder if he will be able to make it physically. A native of Springfield, Illinois and a former first-round pick of the Orioles, Werth was limited to 88 games last year and hit .221 with 12 homers and 42 RBIs. It was his fewest games since playing in 81 games in 2012. He did set a career-high for reaching base 29 games in a row through Sept. 20, and most of that was spent with him in the leadoff span as CF Denard Span was injured. Werth figures to bat further down in the order this season and is slated to start in left field barring injuries. Young Michael A. Taylor waits in the wings to play left when needed.
–RHP Tanner Roark had a spectacular debut in 2013, when he went 7-1 with an ERA of 1.51 in 14 games, with five starts. The University of Illinois product was 15-10 with an ERA of 2.85 in 31 games (all starts) in 2014. But when the Nationals signed free agent Max Scherzer in January, 2015, Roark was relegated to the bullpen to start the season. He eventually made a few starts when the inevitable injuries hit the rotation, but was inconsistent and ended the year 4-7, 4.38 in 40 games, with 12 starts. Roark will have plenty of opportunity to re-join the starting rotation in 2016, as veteran pitchers Jordan Zimmermann (Detroit) and Doug Fister (Houston) have departed via free agency.
–1B Ryan Zimmerman has struggled to stay on the field the last few years and the Nationals needs his bat to help protect Bryce Harper. A former University of Virginia standout, Zimmerman hit .249 in 95 games with 16 homers and 73 RBIs in just 346 at bats last year. Clint Robinson proves to be a valuable reserve as a left-handed hitter who can play first base and the outfield. He did a good job of filling in for Zimmerman last season but is not as productive driving in runs.
–RHP Max Scherzer became just the sixth pitcher to throw two no-hitters in a season in 2015, his first year in Washington. He almost had a perfect game on June 20 at home with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and settled for his first no-no. Then in his last outing of the year he threw a no-hitter in New York against the Mets on the next to last day of the year. He did go several months without a win at home after his no-hitter with the Pirates, and he ended the year 14-12, 2.79 in 33 starts.
–RHP Stephen Strasburg battled neck and back issues in 2015 and was limited to 23 starts, and he was 11-7 with an ERA of 3.46. He pitched very well down the stretch for the Nationals by going 8-2 with an ERA of 1.76 in his last 13 starts. He is a free agent after this year and Scott Boras, his agent, said in mid-February there are no plans for Strasburg to sign a long-term deal with Washington prior to this season.
–3B Anthony Rendon was injured in early March, 2015 in spring training as he dove to his left for a groundball. He did not return until the middle of the season and hit .264 in 80 games with just five homers and 25 RBIs. Rendon will move back to third base, where he played most of 2014, after he played mostly second base last year. The Nationals traded Yunel Escobar, who played third most of 2015, to the Angels for two pitchers and former first-round pick Rendon is now locked in at third, his best spot. Rendon was fifth in the National League MVP voting in 2014 when he hit .287 with 21 homers.
–2B Daniel Murphy signed as a free agent in January after he spent all of his pro career with the New York Mets. The former Jacksonville University standout hit a homer in six straight postseason games last October but the left-handed hitter is also known as a gap hitter who smashes a lot of doubles. “They have laid the foundation of a very competitive team here,” Murphy said of joining the Nationals. “I have got to experience that competitiveness over the last six or seven years being in New York. It is always a tough place to come in here and play. This is the place we wanted to be. I am excited about what the 2016 team has to offer. To be on this side of it is really exciting.” Murphy hit seven home runs during the 2015 MLB postseason. He hit .333 in the National League Division Series and .529 during the NL Championship Series. Murphy is a lifetime .288 hitter who batted .281 with 14 homers and 73 RBIs in regular-season play in 2015.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I’ve apologized to him (Harper). I’ve apologized to my teammates. I want to apologize to the fans and the coaches and everyone included. I think that with what happened last year, I was in the wrong. Should have never went down that way, and I understand that. I had a lot of time this offseason to reflect on that. I’ve had three months to think about it. I’ve done a lot of reflecting, and I think sometimes in life, good things can come out of bad situations.” -– Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon on Feb. 19, addressing his altercation with eventual NL MVP Bryce Harper in the Nationals dugout on Sept. 27 during the eighth inning of a home game.