After a disappointing 2008 campaign in which they lost 102 games and finished with the worst record in all of Major League Baseball, the Washington Nationals are starting to look forward to next season.
On Monday night, General Manager Jim Bowden made his first big move of the offseason. Washington acquired outfielder Josh Willingham and left-handed pitcher Scott Olsen from the Florida Marlins for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, minor league pitcher P.J. Dean, and shortstop Jake Smolinski.
"It shows that [the team has] a commitment to winning," said Bowden of the deals. "A commitment that we're going to continue to go in the right direction and we're not just going to wait for the farm system to develop players here. We said when we were building up our development and scouting that one of the means of using it would be for trading, and we've lived up to that."
The trade materialized at last week's General Managers meetings, and it was no secret going in that the team needed to address the talent level on the major league squad.
Washington sorely needed another starting pitcher and a bat with some pop, and the Florida Marlins—playing the part of small-market franchise—have been actively dangling arbitration-eligible players. Both Willingham and Olsen fit that bill, thus Florida, in a cost-cutting measure, made them both expendable.
Tuesday afternoon at Nationals Park, Bowden introduced both of the newest Nationals. They each made brief statements, took media questions, and reflected on what has been a crazy past few days while looking ahead to life with the Nationals.
Olsen, a 24-year-old left handed starting pitcher, was introspective upon being traded.
"I've never been traded before so this is all new for me," said Olsen. "Meeting all the new people here, everybody's been great. It's the same game no matter where you're at and I look forward to playing here and being a National and try to win. "
Willingham, no stranger to the Nationals or to their fans by virtue of playing for Florida the past few seasons, quipped, "I'm really looking forward to moving forward with the Nationals. You talk about the plan they have for this team and I'm going to believe in it."
He added, "You know what you'll get from me. I'm going to play hard every day. I love playing the game—I think that's the most important part. Just to have an opportunity to play in this stadium of this caliber, it's brand new and think it's going to be a good opportunity and I'm looking forward to it and I appreciate the opportunity."
The fiery Olsen is ready to step in and be a leader for Washington. "You want to be the ace no matter where you're at. I think that at least for me I apply myself so that I can be out there every five days. I don't like missing any starts and as part of an ace that's what you've got to do."
Wednesday's deal deviated from Washington's current rebuilding plan, which is to build from within with draft picks and low-level talent.
Willingham, 29, appeared in 102 games last season and hit .254/.364/.470 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI. He has a career .266 batting average and slammed a combined 57 home runs in 2006 and 2007—his first two full seasons in the league.
After a season when the Nationals were in desperate need of some power hitting, the addition of Willingham gives them a bat with power potential in the heart of the order.
If there's one conundrum with this trade—assuming that Willingham plays in the outfield—it's that something will have to give with Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, or Austin Kearns.
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about 1 month ago
I love the fact that there aren't any mentions in any articles I've seen about the trade mentioning that Smolinski just had major reconstructive knee surgery.....
23 days ago
Scott Olsen has the potential - if he can just keep his head on straight - to be one of the better lefty starters in the National League. There is no reason that a 15-10, 3.75 type season can't become the norm for him assuming the Naitonals eventually find an offense.
from 23 days ago
Farid, thanks for the comment. this deal was a risk the Nats had to take, and they certainly hope Olsen tkaes the next step toward being a reliable major league pitcher. i think they will take that at this point.
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