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Nationals 2013: A position-by-position review
Nationals 2013: A position-by-position review
WTOP Staff
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WTOP_Web_Team@wtop.com
March 30, 2013, 9:53 PM
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WTOP\'s Craig Heist takes a look at the 2013 Washington Nationals, breaking the team down from manager Davey Johnson to the bench.
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In tribute to Davey Johnson
Washington National manager Davey Johnson tips his cap to the crowd before a baseball game against the Miami Marlins at Nationals Park in Washington, Sunday, Sept. 22. Johnson announced earlier in the season that this would be his last year managing the team. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
AP Photo/Susan Walsh
(Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Rob Carr/Getty Images
Manager - Davey Johnson
Johnson enters his third season as manager of the Nats and the resumé is quite impressive for the 70-year-old skipper. Johnson won a World Series with the Mets in 1986 and has taken four different teams to the postseason (Mets, Reds, Orioles and Nationals), joining Billy Martin as the only manager to accomplish that feat. Johnson has Hall of Fame credentials with a .566 winning percentage (1,286-995). In his 15 years as a big league manager, he has finished first or second 12 times and has won 90 games or more seven times. After losing to the Cardinals last year in the playoffs, Johnson vowed at the Winter Meetings this team's motto for the season would be, "World Series or bust." Everybody is waiting to see how it plays out. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
First Base - Adam LaRoche
After testing the free agent market, LaRoche signed a two-year extension with the Nationals on Jan. 8, 2013. He had a spectacular 2012 season hitting .271 with 33 home runs and 100 RBIs with 69 extra-base hits. LaRoche won a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger award, joining Ryan Zimmerman as the only Nats player to do it in the same year. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Second Base - Danny Espinosa
Many people think this will be Danny Espinosa's coming out year. No one questions his defense at second base, but offensively he needs to make adjustments to cut down on his strikeouts. Espinosa has hit 38 homers with 122 RBIs and 66 doubles over the least two seasons, but he hit just .247 last year. He has been working to have a more compact swing toward the ball. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Shortstop - Ian Desmond
Desmond is coming off an All-Star year after winning a Silver Slugger award as the NL's top offensive shortstop. His 25 homers, .511 slugging percentage and .845 OPS led all MLB shortstops. He and Espinosa form one of baseball's best double-play combinations. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Third Base - Ryan Zimmerman
Zimmerman is coming back from offseason shoulder surgery but appears to be close to 100 percent throwing. Despite the shoulder giving him trouble last year, the Z-man still managed to play in 145 games, hitting .282 with 25 homers and 95 RBIs. He has been working on his throwing all spring and says he is "90-95 percent." (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Left Field - Bryce Harper
Harper burst on the scene last year and had an immediate impact for the Nationals. He was named National League Rookie of the Year after hitting .270 with 26 doubles, nine triples, 22 homers and 59 RBIs. His 22 homers as a teen ranks second behind Tony Conigliaro, who had 24. Harper will hit primarily third in the lineup this season behind Jayson Werth and in front of Ryan Zimmerman. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Center Field - Denard Span
Span was acquired by the Nationals from Minnesota for RHP Alex Meyer. He gives the Nationals the leadoff hitter they have coveted over the last several years and a center fielder that can run the ball down with the best of them. He gets on base and doesn't strike out much. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Right Field - Jayson Werth
Werth is one of the leaders in the Nats clubhouse. He missed half the season last year after breaking his wrist trying to make a sliding catch May 6 against the Phillies. He hit .312 the rest of the way after his return to the lineup on Aug. 2, but his signature moment came in Game 4 of the NLDS against the Cardinals, when he hit a walk-off solo home run in the 10th inning that sent the series to Game 5. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Catcher - Kurt Suzuki
Suzuki was acquired from the Athletics in early August 2012 and settled in as the Nats' primary receiver the rest of the season. Before the trade, Suzuki was considered one of the top defensive catchers in the AL. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Catcher - Wilson Ramos
Ramos is completing his comeback from knee surgery and appears to be ready to start the season for the Nats. He injured the knee on May 12 in a game against the Reds trying to, of all things, chase down a passed ball. He has proven to Davey Johnson this spring that he can catch a full game. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Al Bello/Getty Images
Starting Pitcher - Stephen Strasburg
Strasburg is ready for the season knowing there are no innings limits and no restrictions. He went 15-6 last season with an ERA of 3.16 in 28 starts. He was shut down after his start against the Marlins on Sept. 7 after throwing 159 1/3 innings. He comes into this year with a 16-7 record and 2.95 ERA in 33 starts since coming back from Tommy John surgery. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
Starting Pitcher - Gio Gonzalez
Gonzalez is coming off an All-Star season as he went 21-8 with a 2.89 ERA while finishing third in the Cy Young voting. He pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic this spring and threw five scoreless innings in his start against Puerto Rico. Gonzalez has gone 52-29 over the last three seasons. Only CC Sabathia has more wins (55) among left-handed pitchers over that time. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Starting Pitcher - Jordan Zimmermann
Zimmermann broke into double-digit wins last season, going 12-8 with a 2.94 ERA while throwing 195 2/3 innings. He is looking to take the "next step" and some run support would go a long way toward that. He is considered by many to be a top-of-the-rotation pitcher. He has been working on his changeup this spring. Most people feel that if he can master it, it will make him even tougher. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Starting Pitcher - Dan Haren
Haren was signed as a free agent after spending the last 2 1/2 years with the Angels and takes the place of Edwin Jackson from last year's rotation. Haren went 12-13 last year and missed two starts because of back stiffness but is a workhorse when healthy. He is a three-time All Star and started the 2007 game for the American League. Haren threw well over 200 innings for seven consecutive seasons from 2005-2011. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Starting Pitcher - Ross Detwiler
Detwiler pitched for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic against Italy this spring and threw four scoreless innings. It appears he has a better grasp of the Major League game. He went 10-8 last season and allowed only one run in six innings against the Cardinals in Game 4 of the NLDS. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Al Bello/Getty Images
Bullpen - Craig Stammen
Stammen was very valuable to the Nationals in a long relief role last season, going 6-1 with a very stingy 2.34 ERA. He appeared in 59 games last year, walking 36 while striking out 87. He held opponents to a .215 average. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Bullpen - Zach Duke
Duke will serve as the left-handed long man. Duke was signed as a minor league free agent in March of last year and went 15-5 in 26 starts for Triple-A Syracuse. Duke was a late season call-up and was 1-0 in eight games with a 1.32 ERA. (Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
Kyle Rivas/Getty Images
Bullpen - Tyler Clippard
Clippard was the eighth-inning setup man until Drew Storen got hurt last season and he moved into the closer's role. He saved 32 of 37 chances and is expected to be a main cog again in the back end of the pen as a setup guy. The most impressive thing about Clippard is his durability. In the past three seasons, he has thrown a total of 252 innings in 224 games. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Al Bello/Getty Images
Bullpen - Rafael Soriano
You could argue that when the Nats signed Soriano as a free agent in January, the club either was being proactive in bolstering the bullpen or they were left with an uneasy feeling about the way Drew Storen would handle the collapse in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Cardinals. Either one would be correct. Soriano saved 42 games for the Yankees last year while filling in for Mariano Rivera. He also saved 27 for the Braves in 2009 and 45 for the Rays in 2010. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Bullpen - Drew Storen
Coming off a 43-save season in 2011, Storen missed the first 89 games of last year after having surgery to remove bone chips in his right elbow. When he returned, he was primarily in a setup role, but then returned to the closing role in September. He closed out three of the Nats' final 10 wins to end the regular season. He was the losing pitcher in Game 5 of the NLDS against St. Louis, as the Cardinals came back from a 7-5 deficit to win 9-7. (Doug Benc/Getty Images)
Doug Benc/Getty Images
Bullpen - Ryan Mattheus
Mattheus was solid as a rock in middle relief for the Nats last season, pitching 66 1/3 innings in 66 games. He posted a 5-3 record with an ERA of 2.85. His highlight of the year came against the Cardinals in the NLDS as he picked up the win in Game 1, throwing just two pitches to record three outs. (Al Bello/Getty Images)
Bullpen - Henry Rodriguez
Manager Davey Johnson likes this hard-throwing right-hander and will give him every chance to regain the form of early last year when he saved nine games before a series of injuries hampered him -- most notably, bone chips in the right elbow. He missed a total of 84 games over two different stints on the DL. (Hunter Martin/Getty Images)
Hunter Martin/Getty Images
The Bench - Steve Lombardozzi
Lombardozzi hit .273 last year with three homers, 27 RBIs, 16 doubles and three triples in 384 at-bats and 126 games. After injuries to Michael Morse, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond, Lombo filled in all over and proved to be one of the reasons why the Nats never missed a beat on the way to winning the NL East. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
Greg Fiume/Getty Images
The Bench - Chad Tracy
Tracy hit .269 last season for the Nats, but really excelled as a pinch-hitter. He hit .261 with one homer, 11 RBIs and five walks in that role. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The Bench - Roger Bernadina
Bernadina was another member of the "Goon Squad" from last year who stepped up big when others went down with injuries. Bernadina, known as "The Shark," hit .291 with five homers and 25 RBIs in 227 at-bats. He will provide outfield depth. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
The Bench - Tyler Moore
"Tee-Mo," as he is called by his teammates, hit .263 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in just 75 games after coming up from Triple-A Syracuse. No doubt his biggest hit last year came in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Cardinals, when he had a two-run opposite field single to bring the Nats back from a 2-1 deficit to win 3-2. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
The Presidents
Your guess is as good as ours as to how these guys will do this year. But with the addition of William Howard Taft (bringing up the rear in this Opening Day photo), maybe Teddy won't be such a lovable loser anymore. Or maybe not. (WTOP/Sam Millstone)
WTOP/Sam Millstone
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1
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