For a team like the Washington Nationals that entered camp with seven players who had a legitimate shot at making the team's rotation, it might seem odd to end camp by signing a 28-year-old veteran starting pitcher. That move seems even odder when you consider the Nats' pickup, Zach Duke, was just recently released by the worst team in baseball, the Houston Astros, after posting an 11.30 ERA in four appearances this Spring. 

But this isn't your usual Nats team, which is why you are seeing moves that you might not see during a usual year. No, in the past the Nationals front office would make this type of signing, but only after the realization that the three or four veteran starters who they brought in to compile a make-shift rotation just wouldn't cut it. The Nationals circa 2005-11 would have signed Zach Duke in the hopes that he could resemble a shell of his 2005 self and eat up innings at the major league level until their Triple-A prospects were ready for a promotion. Now they've signed him for just the opposite, Duke will be assigned to Triple-A Syracuse to add depth to the team's minor league rotation.

And that's the difference. 

Washington, for the first time in its short existence, is in a position to sign wash-ups to support their minor league system, not blood suck the Major League team. It's no longer the team that Julian Tavarez once referred to as the 600-pound chick he had to go home with at the end of the night, when all the good looking girls were gone. It's a structured, productive system of talent that is designed to compete, and if everything goes to plan, it will. 

To his credit, though, Duke's resume isn't terrible. He was technically an All-Star in 2009, despite finishing the season with a 4.06 ERA and a league leading 16 losses. Last year he went 3-4 with a 4.93 ERA in 29 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks. 

At one-time, Duke was one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. In his first 14 starts at the age of 22, he went 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 2005. He could turn into a great story, but don't be surpised if he never makes his way out of Syracuse. 

There's nothing like the final week before the beginning of the regular season. Every baseball fan's hopes, while guarded, are likely as high as they will be the entire season. There are no blemishes, only untapped white space. A storyboard waiting to be filled. Between now and Opening Day, every team still has a chance, in theory, and each fan patiently awaits with a hope that the baseball analysts have either been exactly right in their prediction about their team's future, or dead wrong.

For bloggers, this is an important week as well. We're a group who often doesn't have the access to the players that the beat reporters do, and don’t have the full-time bandwidth to cover every facet of the team. For us, baseball is very often about making predictions, analyzing what has happened, and packaging it in a way that gives baseball fans a new perspective. Unfortunately that means we often end up looking stupid. Guessing, predicting, and hypothesizing is a dangerous game. This week is special for us, simply, because we have yet to be wrong.

Given that, here are five bold predictions for the Nationals season.

5. Adam LaRoche Will Not Finish The Season As The Nats First Baseman - As we all know, LaRoche was one of the biggest disappointments of 2011. He signed a multi-year deal to provide strong defense and solid hitting and he failed to do both before missing the entire season due to injury. Unfortunately, he is still not 100% healthy, nearly a year after he left the team with a shoulder injury. At 32, his numbers are likely to begin to decline anyway, but with a injury that traditionally can sap bat speed, and the fact that he missed the majority of last year, it is very unlikely he can reach the level he once was at before signing with Washington. While his positive attitude has always been welcome, it just doesn't make sense for the team to continue to start a player in the midst of his decline during their own youth movement. Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, and Steve Lombardozzi will be vying for playing time come August, and someone is going to have to fade into the bench.

4. Jordan Zimmermann Will Be The Nationals' Best Starting Pitcher - This may be the one to come up and bite me, but I honestly believe that as Nats fans we are so excited about Strasburg and our two new hurlers, Edwin Jackson and Gio Gonzalez, that we are forgetting that Zimmermann was one of the best starters in the National League last year. We also forget that he did that just one year removed from Tommy John surgery and on an innings limit. This year he will be ready to let it fly, and I think we will notice a huge difference. With one full season under his belt, he will be stronger, more confident, and more free to throw the pitches he wants when he wants. He may not be as flashy as Strasburg or Gonzalez, but I think when it's said and done he can post an ERA below three while throwing around 200 innings.

3. Washington Will Struggle In April and May - Davey Johnson is a well known and widely respected manager. What has made him great in the past is that he takes both young players and veterans, works with them, builds their confidence, tests them, and ultimately, find the perfect role for them. This process takes time. In his past, teams have often struggled early in the season as Johnson tinkered, but when he finds the right combination, the sweet spot, the team takes off. I think given the youth and the injury situation with the Nationals right now, there will be a one or two month adjustment period before the team really hits its stride.

2. Anthony Rendon Will Be A Starter By September - The best thing to ever happen to Anthony Rendon is Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper. It's unprecedented really. Rendon is one of the best hitters to come out of college baseball in decades, and very few even noticed his presence in the Nats spring training camp. There was no rush of fans, no over-hyped media around the young infielder. He was able to focus on baseball, getting better, and making the squad. Mark my words, this will pay dividends. The opportunity to fail opens the door to succeed. With very little pressure on his shoulders, I think Rendon will flourish and I think he will prove to everyone in baseball that he has been by-and-large overlooked entering his first professional season. In my opinion, he is a better hitter than half of the Nationals roster, right now. He will very quickly move up through the minor leagues and by this summer, he very seriously could be pushing Ian Desmond for his job.

1. Jayson Werth Will Bounce Back, In A Big Way - Jayson Werth will likely never live up to his contract, we knew this much the day he signed it. Someone with his age and his skill set, simply don’t retain their value for as long as the team decided to sign him for. Few expected him to be just as bad as he was in 2011, however. Given that, he will have much more help in the Nats lineup this season. Zimmerman and LaRoche will be back, Ramos and Espinosa will have improved, and talented prospects will soon emerge to give him even more plate protection. I think last season he got himself into a mental funk that wasn't helped by the fact that the team was often losing, and he was often expected to provide the majority of the offense. Things are different in 2012, and he is in a situation he is much more familiar with. Werth has bulked up, and it seems that he may have regained his own confidence. He may never be the player he was with the Phillies again, but I would not be surprised to see him reach .270/.360/.480 with 25 home runs and 100 RBI.

In this week's episode, The Nats Blog's Joe Drugan and Capitol Baseball's Craig MacHenry talk about John Lannan's rotation spot and players getting hurt a lot.  We also talk about the state of the bullpen, and Joe put out a lineup that he wasn't entirely prepared for and is now embarrassed about in the return of the Question Of The Week.

Subscribe to and rate our podcast on iTunes, right-click to download if you don't use iTunes, or stream it below.

The Washington Nationals have had their share of significant injuries this spring, most notably the offensive loss of Michael Morse and Adam LaRoche.  Both of those players may be ready, but it’s safe to assume that Werth’s offensive numbers may be critical to a successful 2012 season.

The man with the beard struggled in 2011 to start the season, with the weight of a seven-year, $126 million loomed over his head on his new team.  Ryan Zimmerman was hurt, and he had no protection to speak of in the everyday lineup.  This season has the potential to see Werth’s offensive numbers improve drastically, especially if you consider his quietly impressive spring numbers.  He’s hit .281 with a .343 OBP in 32 at-bats.  He leads the Nationals with three homers in Grapefruit League play.  It all culminated with an absolute bomb that reportedly hit Werth's own truck in the parking lot.  He told Mark Zuckerman of CSN Washington, "There was a smoldering crater in the hood."  Werth's ability to joke around and stay loose may be the most important thing for his success this year.

Ryan Zimmerman’s health will probably have the biggest impact on the Nationals success at the plate this season.  However, Werth’s value can’t be understated.  With a stronger lineup and a few more experience under the young line ups belt, Werth can focus on doing what he does best, getting on base at extraordinarily high rates and hitting about 25 homers a season.  Despite struggles in 2011, between 2007 and 2010, he averaged an insane .380 OBP with 24 home runs per season.

Spring numbers don’t mean a lot, but for Werth, he told MLB.com (http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fantasy/news/#player_id=150029) that “This year, coming into Spring Training, it was probably the best I've felt, and that has carried over.”  If he’s feeling good, there’s no telling the impact that he can have on this roster.

The only question for Werth is where he’ll have the biggest impact for the team.  His high-OBP and ability to steal about 15 bases per year slot him fairly well for the lead off spot, but his ability to hit for power and drive in 70-80 runs every year will leave him in the fifth or sixth slot in the order throughout the year to help an offense that may need the help scoring runs.  His role may be amplified if the Nationals can’t fix their injuries before April 5, and Nats fans will have to hope the $126 million man can deal with the pressure this time around.

Despite the major changes made to the Washington Nationals’ roster during the off-season, the players have not proved this Spring Training that much has changed.  Opening the spring at 6-13, the offensive woes have not disappeared, while the pitching this past week has been atrocious.  Luckily for all of us, during Spring Training, batters and pitchers are usually working on new techniques so they do not really care about their performance as long as they can work on their stuff.  Although these games really do not matter, these are not the results that fans have been looking for.

The biggest issue though has been injuries to some of the best players on the Nationals, the first being Adam LaRoche.  In spite of the expectation that he should be 100 percent healed and ready by Opening Day, LaRoche has not played in one major league game yet.  The Nationals are even limiting his running because of a sore right foot in the few minor league games that he has played.  The second player is 2011’s Nationals Spring Training and Regular Season MVP, Michael Morse.  Morse suffered a strained lat muscle early this spring training and has struggled to return.  This has not only limited him to 3 games but also a serious concern as to when he will return.  Drew Storen is the latest significant player to experience an injury.  Just the other day he underwent an MRI to check out bicep/tricep pain that he had been experiencing.  Luckily no damage was found, but he will have to undergo some treatment.  All three of these players who would have been slated to start Opening Day if fully healthy may now miss some games in the beginning of the 2012 season.

Just yesterday, manager Davey Johnson put together a lineup that was supposed to resemble the Opening Day lineup if all three players were unavailable that day.  He placed Mark DeRosa at first replacing LaRoche, Steve Lombardozzi in left field replacing Morse, and pitched Brad Lidge in the top of the 9^th to close the game out replacing Storen.  The Nationals scored 12 runs against some of the New York Mets’ top pitching prospects while holding them scoreless with only eight hits.  This performance showed an aspect of the Nationals that they really never had before this season: the amount of depth they have at almost every position.

At starting pitcher, they have seven proven pitchers competing for the five rotation spots.  In relief they have a surplus of help that can be called up at any time from the minors.  At first base they have two major league players in Chad Tracy and Mark DeRosa competing for the back up/platoon position.  In the middle infield, they have one of the best prospects in baseball in Anthony Rendon and last years Minor League Gold Glove Winner Steve Lombardozzi behind Desmond and Espinosa.  At third base, they have numerous utility players, plus Rendon, who can play the position.  Lastly in outfield, they have an amazing wealth of prospects waiting to be called up such as Eury Perez and Michael Taylor, as well as multiple major league players competing in Spring Training for a spot.

Coming into the regular season this depth will be the secret for the Nationals to launch the 2012 season on the right foot in the face of injuries hurting some of the starters.   Luckily, Washington doesn’t have the toughest first 14 games, starting with last year’s 71-91 Cubs and ending with a four game series against the 106-loss Houston Astros from 2011.  This combination should allow the Nationals to jump out to what should be the best season in Nationals history.

At the end of last year’s season, rumors swirled about the Washington Nationals pursuit of an everyday center fielder.  Since then, at one point or another they have been connected to almost every potential option out there.  From trading for B.J. Upton, Peter Bourjos, Gerardo Parra, or Adam Jones to signing free agents Nick Swisher, Coco Crisp, or Grady Sizemore, there has been an excessive amount of speculation fueling rumors.  Finally, two weeks before opening day, the consensus has shifted and determined that the Nationals may limit their search after announcing that they would be sending Bryce Harper down to AAA to get center field experience.

Just yesterday though Washington made another small move that may have an effect very early in the season.  The front office signed former New York Mets OF Xavier Nady to a minor league deal.  Nady, a 10-year veteran, has played for 6 different teams in his career, playing every outfield position and first base.  Over these years he has accumulated a career .275 batting average with a .328 on base percentage as well as a solid .981 combined fielding percentage at every position. Based on this consistent past performance, along with his defensive versatility, he actually has a small chance to compete for the starting center field position or a bench position at some point this season as long as he prospers quickly in the minors. 

Almost every Nationals fan knows that spring training will determine who will be the Opening Day center fielder for the Nationals.  With Bryce Harper optioned to AAA after his golden sombrero, he has exited the running for this opportunity.  This leaves the competition open to three players, newly acquired Brett Carroll, Roger Bernadina, and former pitcher Rick Ankiel.  Currently it is neck and neck for the position.  While Ankiel has not played in many games due to a minor hamstring issue, his impressive arm always amazes and because of his performance last year he is the current favorite.  Bernadina hasn’t been outstanding offensively batting .231 in 26 AB, but just like Ankiel his defensive prowess is above average.  Carroll has played the most of the three and anyone who has watched has seen his specialties, heart and hustle. All three of these players all have the capabilities to have average offensive seasons with great defense, but so far none have lived up to their potential in the regular season to guarantee themselves a position.

This is where Nady comes in.  As some people know from last season with the signings of both Alex Cora and Jerry Hairston Jr., Mike Rizzo loves veteran utility players such as Nady.  He knows that most veterans can provide leadership and support in the clubhouse that young players just can’t because of inexperience.  If the center field position does not work out for at least two of the three players competing very early (emphasis on very early) in the regular season look for Nady’s name to be mentioned as a possible option because of his experience.  Otherwise after Harper is called up from AAA to fill center field, his only real chance will be as a bench player.  To even get a chance at playing in the majors with the Nationals, Nady will have to prove that he is back to his old form in the minors. Also, the current major league bench players will have to play poor enough to be sent down to the minors, or someone will have to get hurt. Since the possibility of this happening after pretty slim, Nady’s chances of making the majors is even slimmer.  If anything fans should view this signing as insurance for a major collapse, nothing more.  It may all amount to nothing but at least Nady is there if the Nats need him.

The Washington Nationals showed interest in Arizona Diamondbacks OF Gerardo Parra earlier this spring, but nothing seemed to happen immediately afterwards.  That interest seems to have been reignited for the Nats front office over the last two days, as a total of six Nationals scouts have watched DBacks games where Parra has played, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.

Knobler reports that the Diamondbacks want a catcher and a shortstop in a deal that would bring Parra to DC, and right now, the Nationals may have just what they're being asked for.  Jesus Flores is a quality starting catcher on a number of MLB rosters, but he's blocked by Wilson Ramos in DC.  Ramos finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting last season and has proven himself to be a great backstop for the Nationals young, talented pitching staff.  Finding a backup for Ramos could be an issue, though, and Carlos Maldonado isn't the ideal candidate.

The shortstop question lends a couple names into the mix.  Ian Desmond is the obvious choice for many Nats fans, but the front office isn't as likely to make that deal.  Manager Davey Johnson and GM Mike Rizzo have been vocal supporters of Desmond and seem happy with what he provides to the lineup.  However, his notoriously low OBP and high strikeout total raise lots of concerns about his ability to be the Nats lead off hitter, and his propensity for committing fielding errors has been prominent this spring, as he's committed four in limited action in less than three weeks.  If the Nationals were committed to keeping Desmond around, they could see if Arizona was willing to take middle infielder Steve Lombardozzi, though that may not be in the Nats best interested either.

For the sake of this trade, let's assume the Nats decide to flip Flores and Desmond for Parra and possibly another less significant piece.  It would be an expensive deal, there's no doubt about that.  Both Flores and Desmond are capable major league starters, and in Desmond's case, he has significant value for a team where he's not expected to be a lead off hitter.  But the Nationals need a high on-base lead off hitter and center fielder, and Parra looks to slot into that role perfectly.  Last year's .292/.357/.427 slash line in nearly 500 PAs, combined with a 10.2 UZR/150, earned him an NL Gold Glove.

For the Nationals, the could slot Parra into CF, leaving Jayson Werth in right and Michael Morse in left when he gets healthy.  On the infield, LaRoche and Zimmerman would take the corners with Espinosa and Lombardozzi at short and second, respectively.  Waiting in the wings, you have Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon ready to take over relatively soon, likely moving Morse to first, and LaRoche getting offloaded or platooned against right-handed pitching.  It creates some log jams, sure, but it's the kind of log jams you really want to have.  It's the kind of problem only a good-to-great baseball team experiences, and it's one that Nats fans would love to see.