The last time anyone was happy with Jason Marquis. AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez
This is the 3rd of a quick series of reviews on the Nat’s 2010 season ending roster with analysis of what we should do. Part I was a discussion of our Arbitration candidates while Part II was a discussion about Free Agents (ours and rumored acquisitions). Part III is a quick rundown on the players either already under contract for 2011 or under club control (not yet reached arbitration status). Bold means I am guessing that they’re on the 25 man roster on opening day.
| Marquis, Jason | #4 starter in 2011; lets hope he can regain some form. |
| Zimmerman, Ryan | Franchise player |
| Strasburg, Stephen | 60-day DL to start season; hopefully see some rehab starts in September |
| Rodriguez, Ivan | Likely to cede playing time gradually to Ramos through 2011. |
| Hernandez, Livan | Great 1-year re-signing. Opening Day #1 Starter 2011. |
| Maya, Yunesky | Hopefully shows his value with a full Spring Training. Probable #5 starter barring FA signings or injury |
| Morgan, Nyjer | Still under club control; but definitely a roster question mark |
| Mock, Garrett | Destined for AAAA starter status. Syracuse Rotation |
| Stammen, Craig | Despite good advanced stats, probably behind in rotation race. 2011 long man in BP |
| Clippard, Tyler | BP Anchor; splits time between setup and closer role. |
| Zimmermann, Jordan | #3 starter 2011. Hopefully stays healthy. |
| Atilano, Luis | AAA rotation |
| Balester, Collin | MLB bullpen/longman |
| Bernadina, Roger | Possible starting 2011 RF |
| Desmond, Ian | Starting SS |
| Detwiler, Ross | Probably loses out on rotation battle and starts in AAA |
| English, Jesse | Coming off injury, probably AAA bullpen. Possible DFA. |
| Jaime, Juan | Injured all of 2010: Possible DFA? |
| Martin, J.D. | Coming off injury, probably AAA rotation or DFA. |
| Martis, Shairon | AAA rotation |
| Mattheus, Ryan | Injured most of 2010: Possible DFA |
| Maxwell, Justin | 4th outfielder. |
| Severino, Atahualpa | AAA bullpen |
| Thompson, Aaron | AA Rotation. Possible DFA after awful 2010. |
| Bisenus, Joe | DFA Candidate after middling end of 2010. |
| Storen, Drew | MLB bullpen; sharing closing duties w/ Clippard |
| Ramos, Wilson | MLB backup catcher |
| Espinosa, Danny | MLB starting 2nd baseman |
| Harper, Bryce | Likely starting in Potomac and fast rising. |
We had more than 40 guys that needed to be made active (given that we ended the year with several on the 60-day DL) and some had to be designated for assignment (DFA) to make room when the date arrives to make the rosters right post 2010. That date was 11/10/10, and between our 5 free agents we also cut loose four other players. None was really a surprise.
- Scott Olsen endured another injury and earned the ire of the manager when his move to the bullpen was met with some petulance.
- Tyler Walker was injured all year and is the most common of commodities in baseball (the right handed middle reliever).
- Jesse English suffered a similar fate to Walker, and is surplus to requirements after Slaten did such a good job as the LOOGY.
- The mild surprise DFA so far has been Joe Bisenius. He didn’t have the greatest numbers out of our bullpen at the end of last season (walking more than he K’d) but he’s a power arm in a league that is quickly becoming a power-arm league. Perhaps he’ll be invited to spring training to try to earn another shot.
As of right now, we sit at exactly 37/40 on the 40 man. This gives us some nice flexibility to acquire players via trade or sign free agents without having to make any more moves. We also have a pending deadline to add Rule5 eligible players, and we have several guys we probably want to protect (a blog posting on this is upcoming…), so I do feel we could make a few more moves:
- Juan Jaime: he’s buried in the minors and its unlikely someone would risk him after being injured all year
- Ryan Mattheus (see Jaime)
- Aaron Thompson: who had just a horrible 2010 and could probably pass through waivers.
- We could also cut JD Martin loose: he’s 27 coming off a season-ending injury, is clearly not going to be in the future plans of the team, and a soft-tossing right handed starter isn’t likely to be in great demand on the waiver wire.
Let the offseason mania begin!