A few short weeks into the offseason, it's clear the Nationals will do what they can to avoid a repeat of last year's disastrous season. But it remains to be seen how many sure-fire solutions the team is capable of adding.
The Nationals acquired outfielder Josh Willingham and left-handed pitcher Scott Olsen from the Marlins in exchange for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio and a pair of minor-leaguers on Nov. 12, their first move to add legitimate veterans to a team that finished 59-102 last season. But both players come with their fair share of questions. Willingham missed 60 games last season with a herniated disk in his lower back, while Olsen's velocity dipped into the high 80s for much of last season, down from his usual mark in the low- to mid-90s.
There's also the matter of Olsen's past troubles; he had numerous confrontations with Marlins teammates and former manager Joe Girardi, plus a 2007 DUI arrest when he had be subdued by police, though none of those incidents have occurred in the past year.
The Nationals insist they did enough homework on both players to be convinced each one will fit in well. Now they have to hope the pair's issues won't resurface.
"A trade is all about risk. It's about financial risk. It's about health risk. It's a chance to get to the big leagues risk. There's a lot of risk that both clubs have to weigh in this transaction," Washington general manager Jim Bowden said. "That's why it took a while to come to conclusion. But (Florida) got three good players from us. We got two good players from them. It was a good baseball trade, I think, for both organizations."
