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Bryce Harper’s status with the 2012 Washington Nationals has become one of the hottest topics of Spring Training thus far. He’s one of the most talented prospects ever in Major League history, and it’s no question that the Nationals would love to have him on the 25-man roster.

Apparently, manager Davey Johnson seems willing to give Harper every chance this spring to make the club. Even though veterans Mike Morse, Roger Bernadina and Jayson Werth will all have the upper hand, Harper will still be given ample opportunity.

If Harper has a strong spring, Johnson and GM Mike Rizzo will have no choice but to consider him for the Opening Day roster. 

Harper is somebody who needs to be playing everyday, no matter the level. If he plays well enough this spring to make the team, but not well enough to start, the Nationals would be wise to have him play in AAA so he can continue to get regular at-bats.

Even if he did play well enough to earn a starting spot in right field, he would be a huge work in progress. It’s obvious that he has serious talent, but he still needs work defensively in the outfield, along with his base-running and with his discipline at the plate.

Such things can only be corrected with a sufficient amount of playing time. Playing sporadically as a fourth outfielder in the majors won’t do much to help his progression into the superstar player he seems destined to be.

The 19-year old is confident in his abilities, and given his manager’s confidence in him, it’s definitely a possibility that Harper will be suiting up as the Opening Day right fielder in 2012.

Harper’s emergence with the team would have a direct effect on Werth, who will be asked to shift from his natural position of right field over to center. That move would make Bernadina the team’s fourth outfielder, or emergency plan just in case Harper falters.

Werth, who failed to produce at a level reflective of the monster contract he signed prior to last season, would have a tough task ahead of him. He would be asked to transition into playing center field everyday, as well as being asked to cover for the inevitable mistakes that Harper would make in the transition to an everyday outfielder.

Werth’s offense, though, will probably benefit from Harper’s presence in the lineup.

In 561 at-bats last season, Werth hit a putrid .232/.330/.389 with 20 home runs and 58 RBI. With the added protection of Harper, Werth would theoretically see an all-around increase in his production.

Having Harper on the roster would surely improve the Nationals offensive production. That being said, the defense would take a pretty big hit, at least at first. Harper seems determined this spring to improve his game, so he may turn out to be a more-than-serviceable outfielder.

The Nationals figure to be a much improved club this season, with or without the presence of Harper on the 25-man roster. The additions of Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson will be huge for the rotation, and the under-the-radar signing of Brad Lidge should help to solidify the back end of the bullpen.

The team won 80 games in 2011. With the additions of Gonzalez, Jackson and Lidge, the team could see its win total increase into the 88-range. With Harper on the team, though, that win total could increase even further into the 91-range.

With 91 wins, the team would most likely be fighting with the revamped Marlins for a Wild Card spot. Should they win the Wild Card, the Nationals could end up cast as a playoff sleeper in October.

There’s no doubt that Harper will be a productive major leaguer when his time comes, but he could really be a valuable asset to the Nationals this season. Although he may make the defense a bit weaker, the offense and the bench will be improved as a result of him being on the team.

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Former Nationals outfielder Elijah Dukes has been arrested again. After being pulled over driving his 2011 Chevy Camaro in Tampa, police noticed he had a bag of marijuana on his lap.

He proceeded to try and eat the bag.

As much as I would like to lie to you and say that this is surprising (the attempted ingestion of the bag, not the arrest), I simply cannot. The man has literally been arrested countless times, including charges related to domestic violence, failure to pay child support and marijuana possession. Most of the charges were not prosecuted or were dismissed.

Dukes considers himself to be blackballed by Major League Baseball for coming forward with allegations of fellow players smuggling drugs on chartered airplanes.

Sure, that’s it. It has nothing to do with his arrests and confrontational style in and out of the game.

It truly is a shame to see a player like Dukes just spiraling down. The man, at one time, had pretty solid potential. I’m not labeling him the next Willie Mays, or anything preposterous like that, however, Dukes could have developed into a solid piece of the Nationals outfield.

It is unfortunate that his sample size is so small. Having only played in 240 Major League games, Dukes showed a decent ability to get on base.  

Back in 2009, every projection for Dukes was positive. He was slated to be another star in the making in the Tampa Bay Rays system. He was thought of as an elite athlete with the bat to back it up.

His .242 career batting average doesn’t really support that.

It is a shame, the kid had a lot of potential. He is still young enough that if he got his head on straight, perhaps he could have another run in MLB. However, judging from what history tells us, we’ve seen the last of Dukes trolling any Major League diamond.

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This past week the Washington Nationals announced the signing of Rick Ankiel to a minor-league deal.  Along with Mike Cameron, Ankiel gives the Nationals some depth (albeit aged depth) in the outfield heading into spring training.

While neither name will shake the Capitol building, both stand a chance of making the opening-day roster.

While general manager Mike Rizzo has not found his long-term option for center field, this spring could provide for a pretty interesting competition for that spot.

Ankiel’s deal involves an invitation to spring training, and one can assume that Rizzo would like to at least retain Ankiel’s services in the minor leagues, where he would be ready for major league call-up.  Ankiel, after all, possesses the strongest arm of all the Nationals outfield options.

Camerson also has signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.  Cameron’s deal includes a $1 million bonus if he makes the Opening Day roster, and he can earn $750,000 in incentives as well.

Obviously, both players want to fill that center field role for the Nats, currently held by Roger Bernadina, according to the team’s depth chart.

It would appear that this is a three-dog race.

Cameron, who is 39 years old, actually has  the best overall offensive numbers going back to 2008.  Rick Ankiel has the second-best, followed by Bernadina.  The irony being  that their offensive finish came in accordance to their age from oldest to youngest.  

Here is a look at their basic batting lines:

At the plate, it is obvious that no one hits for average much better than the other.  The difference is minute.  However, Cameron shows the ability to get on base more often, and when he does get a hit, it usually it results in multiple bases.

Ankiel is your median player pretty much across the board.  He will be  32 years old to start the season (and will turn 33 in mid-season) and is pretty even-keeled across the board.  There is nothing that will blow your mind.  The same can be said for Bernadino.

Looking a bit more closely at the figures, Ankiel has played in 438 games since 2008.  That is 43 more than Cameron and 184 more than Bernadino.  However, Cameron has managed to eclipse Ankiel in plate appearnces by 63 (1,585 to 1,522) while Bernadino is not even in that conversation.  

Actually, the only conversation in which Bernadino belongs is age and batting line.  His offensive numbers will fall short unless prorated due to his lack of games played.  To be fair, I will do just that: prorate his numbers, which will be indicated with an asterisk from here out.

While Ankiel leads the charge with hits, Cameron is just one hit behind him:  335 to 334. Bernadino would fall short at 291*.

For power numbers, Cameron leads in home runs, hitting 62. Ankiel has managed 51 and Bernadino 27*.

In runs scored and RBI, not surprisingly, Cameron finished first as well: 198 runs, 182 RBI. Ankiel had 192 runs and 170 RBI, and Bernadino 155* runs and 114* RBI.

On the other side of the ball, age could  prove to be a negative for Cameron and Ankiel.  They have many more miles on their legs than Bernadino.  Though Ankiel has the strongest arm, he is also, as I mentioned, almost 33 years old.  Bernadino is just about four years his junior.

The three-dog race during spring training should prove to be a very interesting one.  While Cameron appears to be the top choice on paper (including an impressive resume consisting of three Gold Glove Awards), his age makes him susceptible to injury.

I find it highly improbable to not see Bernadino on the major league roster, either as the starting center fielder or fourth outfielder.  The true race comes down to Cameron and Ankiel.

Without knowing the exact parameters of Ankiel’s deal, it is hard to gauge whether the final decision will be a financial one.  While Cameron historically has been the better player, the team could opt for Ankiel if  that saves money without seeing a drastic drop in offensive numbers.

Then again, who knows? Maybe Bryce Harper comes in and  takes the job away from all three of these guys.

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Pitching is the key to playing into October.

There is no secret there.  If a team lacks pitching depth and stability, they’re not going to sniff the big dance.  This winter, the Washington Nationals are taking big steps to prove their worth in the NL East by bolstering their starting rotation.

The recent acquisition of Edwin Jackson just may have been the piece to help make them a pitching powerhouse. In a division with no shortage of arms or superstars, the Nationals hope to build on their 80-81 2011 season.

Let’s have a look at the bullets they have loaded in the chamber heading into the 2012 campaign.

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It’s been almost 24 hours since the Washington Nationals acquired pitcher Gio Gonzalez, and fan reaction has pretty much fallen into two categories regarding the deal.

Either the team gave up way too much for a pitcher that walks way too many batters, or the 26-year-old Gonzalez will indeed help make the Nationals contenders in 2012.

But within both groups there is a common link. Many on both sides think that if the team wanted to add a top-end starter, they should have signed him as a free agent instead of trading for him. 

This way, the logic goes, they could have gotten him for “nothing.”

Makes sense?

Let’s take the case of Mark Buehrle, the former White Sox hurler who signed a four-year, $58 million deal with the Miami Marlins a couple of weeks ago. 

That works out to $14.5 million per year for Buehrle, who will be 33 at the beginning of the contract and 36 when it ends in 2015. 

Over that same period of time, Gonzalez will probably earn about as much in four years as Buehrle will earn in one.

In his two full years, Gonzalez has averaged a 16-10 record with a 3.17 ERA. During that same period, Buehrle went 13-11, 3.94 and hasn’t won 16 games in a season since 2005. 

After 12 major league seasons, Buehrle is as good as he’s going to get and will probably begin to decline fairly quickly, something that happens to all pitchers at this stage in their careers. Gonzalez though, at 26, continues to get better as he refines his game.

True, the Nationals gave up four quality prospects, but history suggests that only one or two of them will have successful careers. Popped tendons, lost release points and 100 mph fastballs will keep some of them from reaching their potential.

By not signing Buehrle, the Nationals also saved their top pick in the upcoming amateur draft, something they would have forfeited had they signed him. 

They also saved roughly $45 million which would just about cover the first two years of a potential Prince Fielder contract, or more than the amount required to sign local boy Joe Saunders, a John Lannan-esque pitcher capable of easily replacing him in the Nationals’ rotation

The Nationals could then trade Lannan and receive in return a couple of good-to-decent prospects, players that would help replace the kids lost in the Gonzalez trade. 

Trading for Gio Gonzalez instead of signing Mark Buehrle really didn’t cost the Nationals anything. It was just a different way of accomplishing the goal that team GM Mike Rizzo said was a priority for months—adding a durable starter to the pitching staff. 

The team “lost” four prospects instead of $45 million. Are each of those kids worth $11 million to the Nationals? While this might change, right now I’d have to say no. 

All in all, it was a good day for the Nationals.

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Again, we are hearing the same news from Oakland. According to MLB.com reporter Jane Lee on Twitter, “Everyone not named Jemile Weeks is still available.”

Because of that, I think it is only a matter of time until we see young left-hander Gio Gonzalez on the move somewhere. Of course, the multi-million dollar question is where that will be.

According to Ken Rosenthal, there are a number of teams that are obviously interested in Gonzalez. He is young, cheap, and talented. Rosenthal lists that the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins and Washington Nationals are the main contenders for his services.

Of all of these options, I kind of like the Nationals going for him. First of all, I don’t think that they would trade him within the division to the Rangers. It could happen, but those types of trades rarely do. Therefore, that narrows the field to three.

All three of these teams have valid reasons for wanting Gonzalez. However, the Nationals seem to need him more than the other teams.

Allow me to explain.

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves have been atop the National League East for several years. The Phillies are getting older, but they still should have a solid performance in 2012. The Atlanta Braves are only getting better every season, and even though they kind of collapsed last season, they will return to fight for the top of the division this coming season.

Obviously, the Marlins have come to compete this season. They grabbed Jose Reyes, Heath Bell and Mark Buehrle very quickly and seem to want to change the power balance in the East this season.

For the sake of completeness, the New York Mets are trying to rebuild, so while I do not see them competing for the division title this season, they are trying to position themselves for a future run.

Where does that leave the Washington Nationals? They are a team full of young talent. Stephen Strasburg will be returning this year, and we will probably see the debut of highly-touted Bryce Harper. Even their more established stars such as Ryan Zimmerman or Jayson Werth (and I do realize that he struggled last year, but he still could be a star) are 27 and 32, respectively.

All of this praise being said though, they still need to improve to compete in this division and Gonzalez is a very convenient way to do that. Like I emphasized above, the Nationals are very young at the major-league level. Because of that, they could afford to deal prospects to acquire Gonzalez since they will have time to replenish the farm system before they need the players in the majors.

I think that it is very possible that the Nationals create a solid offer for Gonzalez. The obvious incentive is to keep up in the East, and he would definitely provide them with an established starting pitcher who could headline their rotation.

Keep your eyes on this deal, and don’t be surprised to see him in Washington.

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Every few seasons, a small market team emerges as a surprise contender.  Caught up in the rush of playoff talk, these teams often rush into trades without realizing the consequences of dealing away prospects in hopes of securing a playoff berth.

The Montreal Expos were that team in 2002. They made a blockbuster trade and in the process traded away three future All-Stars.

They were a good Expos team, full of good young starts that the franchise had developed through its minor league system, one of baseball’s best during the late nineties. The roster was dotted with notable names such as Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro and Orlando Cabrera. 

The Expos somehow managed to stick around the top of the standings long enough for Major League Baseball’s self-appointed general manager, Omar Minaya to ravage the franchise’s once promising farm system to rent Bartolo Colon for half a season in an attempt to stay in the playoff race.

Needless to say, the Expos did not make postseason. In fact, they were not even close. The Expos did finish the season with a winning record at 83-79, but that was hardly worth the price that Minaya paid. In the trade with the Indians to acquire Colon, Minaya traded Grady Sizemore, Brandon Phillips, and Cliff Lee for 17 starts from a pitcher he knew he could not possibly keep.

The next year, the Expos finished 83-79, but with no new talent on the way, and homegrown stars like Guerrero taking advantage of free agency, the Expos franchise could not rebound and struggled to sustain their winning ways. Major League Baseball was forced to relocate the franchise to the nation’s capital, where success has been hard to come by.

Fast forward to current day. The Nationals have finally begun to replenish their farm system—two straight 100-loss seasons allow a franchise to do this—and are winning at a respectable enough clip that some analysts are speculating that the team could contend for the wild card.

The best thing for Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo to do now would be to turn off the TV whenever such talk comes on. As a small market franchise, the Nationals cannot afford to mortgage their future on one season. The farm system is once again stocked with talent like it was in the late nineties.

Rizzo must realize that his franchise’s best hope lies in following the footsteps of the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays starting lineup is full almost entirely with players developed in the minor leagues. The few players not from the farm system have been carefully picked free agents. Teams like the Nationals and Rays cannot afford to make mistakes on free agents.

Reaching on a free agent is not worse however than losing a player that goes onto become a star. Small market teams benefit from the ability to resign their young players at a discounted rate. The Washington franchise could have had Lee, Phillips and Sizemore for the first six years of their careers. Instead, they lost these future stars in exchange for finishing four games over .500.

The Washington Nationals need to be patient this season and resist the urge to pull the trigger on a deadline deal. Mega-prospects such as Bryce Harper, Brad Peacock and Tyler Moore are dominating the minor leagues. The Nationals have once again created one of the best minor league systems. Destroying that in an attempt to contend this season would be a terrible mistake. Patience is a virtue, and passing on a major trade will allow the Nationals to reap the benefits of their prospects.

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The Washington Nationals have frequently been the worse team in baseball. In their short existence, they have never won a World Series or even made it to the playoffs.

Constantly, the Nats have been plagued by inconsistency and failure to deliver the finishing touch.

This year, however, the Nationals are going to make the playoffs.

Washington has been doing amazingly this year in comparison to previous years and will continue to dazzle fans. However, while dealing with the loss of manager Jim Riggleman, the Nationals must continue to play smartly and not commit pointless errors.

While several of their wins have been due to lucky home runs hit in the bottom of the ninth, many of their victories have been well-fought battles.

One of their key players is shortstop Ian Desmond, who has made countless saves and always hustles to make the out. His ability to sprint, receive, and throw the ball has considerably helped the Nationals make the vital plays they need to win crucial games.

Another factor that has helped the Nationals win is their outfielder, Jayson Werth.

Werth hasn’t been missing fly balls or long hits into the outfield, common mistakes we have seen previous seasons in Washington. Not only is he good at catching incredible hits, but also his offensive play has improved significantly—he now has a .228 batting average and the second most hits on the team.

The Nationals have also improved their ability to hit game-winning home runs and their ability to score just as many or more runs as the opposing team.

The Nats’ top hitter, Danny Espinosa, has hit multiple homers in the ninth to secure victory and has hit valuable shots during the middle innings. This is a guy that many teams throughout the MLB desperately need—a guy who can close out tough games and doesn’t choke during the ninth inning.

If the Nationals can train more guys to play like that, they will be seeing many more victory days.

With all this said, let’s talk about what the Nationals need to improve if they want to make it to the playoffs.

The Nationals need to not give up runs early in the game, so that they don’t have to play catch-up to win. One of the most difficult things to do in any sport is to come back from behind—it is both mentally and physically challenging.

Another thing they need to improve is pitching. Last year, the Nationals called up Stephen Strasburgh, the pitcher that was supposed to save the team and earn them a spot in the playoffs. After about a quarter of the season however, Strasburgh was unable to play due to injury.

This year, pitcher Jason Marquis needs to work on his fastball and curveball.

His batting is decent enough that he should be able to focus on pitching.

If the Nationals do all this, they will be in the playoffs.

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“Unbelievable!”

That is the only word to describe Roger Bernadina‘s catch in the fifth inning last night against the Florida Marlins.

Tied 4-4 in the top of the fifth, Florida’s Mike Stanton drives a ball deep into center field only to see the Washington outfielder take flight with his glove outstretched.

Bernadina snags the ball at the top of his glove like a “snow cone” and holds on through the landing.

As this catch is going on, the only thing I can think of is Matthew McConaughey being flown by “angels” to make a catch in the movie Angels in the Outfield.

Bernadina made this play all by himself.

Unfortunately, the Nationals couldn’t hold onto the game the way Bernadina held onto the ball.

Washington lost 6-5 in extra innings in what was their third straight extra innings ball game.

It’ll be tough for Bernadina to top that catch for the rest of the season, but he’ll get the opportunity again today against the Marlins.

The Nationals hope the next time one of their players makes a “catch of the season” type play, they can actually do so in a game that they win.

With not a lot to be excited about, this could easily be their highlight of the year until Stephen Strasburg finds his way back to the mound.

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