Not since the Senators moved to Texas to become the Rangers in 1971 has the Nation’s Capital had their own baseball team. The 33 year drought finally came to an end this past off-season when the former Montreal Expos were relocated to Washington. Despite the new name, the new city, and new big name players – the Nats still find themselves the worst team in possibly the best division in baseball.
Normally an off-season that saw the Nats ink Christian Guzman, Esteban Loaiza, and Vinny Castilla as well as trade for Jose Guillen, would be considered a relative coup – especially for a smaller market team like the Nationals. Unfortunately players like Pedro Martinez, Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado, and Tim Hudson joined the NL East – and overshadowed a terrific off-season for the Nats.
New Faces:
Jim Bowden – GM
The former Reds GM was brought in under a verbal deal after Expos/Nationals general manager Omar Minaya bolted for the division rival Mets. Bowden had a history of making controversial deals during his ten year stay with the Reds including bringing in such talent as Ken Griffey Jr, David Wells, Greg Vaughn, Adam Dunn, Sean Casey, and a bevy of others.
Bowden’s situation is as unusual as you will ever see in the Majors; he has no contract with the Nats and has only verbally agreed to work with the club through April. Chances are Bowden will sign a long term deal through the 2005 season at least. Bowden did a terrific job working under a smaller 50 Million dollar payroll bringing in some new names for the new franchise.
Jose Guillen – RF
2004: .294, 30 HR, 104 RBI
Bowden’s first move as GM was to acquire troubled Angels outfielder and ex-Red Jose Guillen for Juan Rivera and Macier Izturis. Statistically Guillen is a far superior player – able to hit 30 home runs, put up a .300 average, and drive in 100 runs and will be a welcome addition to a mediocre Nats outfield. He should be right at home hitting clean-up and playing a solid defensive right field.
Guillen’s departure from Anaheim was filled with animosity towards coach Mike Scioscia and Angels management after he was benched late in the season and then suspended without pay. What made the move so surprising was Guillen’s superb performance up to that point, providing a nice 1-2 punch with Vlad Guerrero. The suspension stemmed from an incident where Guillen was lifted for a pinch hitter by Mike Scioscia, which in turn made Guillen throw his helmet in Scioscia’s direction and proceeded to thrash equipment in the bullpen.
Christian Guzman – SS
2004: .274, 31 2B, 10 SB
Guzman was the second player brought in by the Nats and their first official free agent signee. The speedy short stop was cut loose by the Twins after failing to live up to the expectations of his first couple of seasons. The shortstop signed a pricey 4 year, 17 Million dollar contract in November. Many believe Washington overpaid for the defensive specialist, but the fact is that Guzman is better than the other options the Nats had.
As mentioned, Guzman has evolved more into a defensive specialist since he injured his shoulder. Gone are the days were he will turn a ball in the gap into a stand-up triple. Guzman’s bad shoulder greatly hinders his performance from the left side of the plate, greatly affecting his power output. The former Twin also has lost a step, seeing his stolen base percentage take a bit of a dive from a few years ago since he’s been forced to slide feet first. The former Twin is still a terrific defensive short stop, showing terrific range and a decent arm that allows him to make tough throws.
Vinny Castilla – 3B
2004: .271, 35 HR, 131 RBI
The most scoffed at signing of the off-season, Vinny Castilla was brought in to replace Tony Batista. The third baseman enjoyed a nice comeback season last year hitting .271 with 35 homeruns and 131 RBIs – in Colorado. Prior to returning to the Rockies in 2004, Castilla struggled to produce in Atlanta, Tampa, and Houston. Never-the-less, the Nats signed him to a relatively cheap 2 year, 6 Million dollar deal.
Castilla looked rejuvenated with Colorado last season, but his splits leave a bit to be desired. His his 100 points higher at home in Coors last year, but had seven more homers on the road and RBI production at how was more much significant than on the road, driving in 30 more runs. The aging player can still play defense though, probably one of the best defensive third basemen in the league. At the very worst, Castilla will provide average power and superior defense. At best he’ll put up numbers similar to last season.
Esteban Loaiza – SP
2003: 10-7, 5.70 ERA, 1.57 WHIP
After a dream 2003 season that saw Loaiza make a serious at the Cy Young Award, the right hander fell back to earth following a disappointing performance in 2004. The righty relies heavily on a mid 80’s cutter to jam batters, so much so that he often throws the pitch too much and becomes predictable. He will take over the fourth spot in the Nats rotation with Tony Armas on the DL.
After struggling mightily in his second season with the White Sox, Loaiza found himself traded at mid-season for Jose Contreras. Unfortunately for the pitcher, the move to New York did nothing to jump start his season. He amassed an 8.00+ ERA as a Yankee and managed to win only one game. Late in then season he was shifted to pen where he failed to do any better. The righthander did well enough in the playoffs, but don’t expect anything near a 2003 season again.
Other New Faces:
Wil Cordero – 1B, Antonio Osuna – RP, Alex Escobar – CF, Gary Bennett – C
Deapartures:
Juan Rivera – Traded for Jose Guillen
Macier Izturis – Traded for Jose Guillen
Tony Batista – Japan
Endy Chavez – Optioned to AAA
Sunny Kim – Optioned to AAA
Einar Diaz – Free Agent, St. Louis Cardinals
Chad Bentz – Released
Rocky Biddle – Released
Projected Rotation:
1. Livan Hernandez – RHP
2. Tomo Ohka – RHP
3. Zach Day – RHP
4. Tony Armas – RHP
5. Esteban Loaiza - RHP
Projected Bating Order:
1. Brad Wilkerson – LF
2. Christian Guzman – SS
3. Jose Vidro – 2B
4. Jose Guillen – RF
5. Vinny Castilla – 3B
6. Nick Johnson – 1B
7. Ryan Church – 1B
8. Brian Schneider – C
The Verdict:
The Nationals are a greatly improved team compared to last season’s Expos. The additions of Castilla, Guillen, and Guzman should help improve a struggling offense and improve a strong defense. In any other division they would be right around the middle of the pack – the Nats have a decent number one starter in Livan Hernandez; a decent two through five in the rotation when Armas returns from the DL; a middle of the road offense with some stars like Vidro, Guillen, Castilla, and Johnson.
In the end, they just don’t have enough pieces to compete everyday with the other teams in their division. The Nats will draw more fans in Washington and when they find a new owner, they could be a team to compete with. Until then they’ll simply be mediocre.
Prediction: 72-90
