SAN ANTONIO de GUERRA, Dominican Republic – Among the stacks of mental snapshots from yesterday’s opening of the Orioles’ new baseball academy, with its Sarasota vibe that whets the appetite for spring training, is the image of former pitcher Ubaldo Jiménez strolling into the complex with a big smile on his face and his old black cap with the orange bill perched atop his head.

The man doesn’t take the chance to represent lightly.

Jiménez was invited to the ceremony and made the trip from his Miami home, where his passions are real estate investments and helping to raise his three daughters. He last pitched in the majors with the Orioles on Sept. 22, 2017. The Rockies signed him in February 2020 and released him five months later.

Still appearing in baseball shape, could another comeback attempt be in the works? Jiménez flashed his familiar smile again and reminded us that he turns 40 next week.

Jiménez couldn’t single out just one feature of the state-of-the-art academy that most impressed him.

The Nationals’ moves so far this winter have almost exclusively involved one-year deals. Only right-hander Trevor Williams (two years, $13 million) got more than a one-year commitment from the Nats, who signed Jeimer Candelario ($5 million), Corey Dickerson ($2.25 million) and Dominic Smith ($2 million) each to short-term contracts.

There are no bad one-year deals. So say many baseball executives, justifying even the high-salary contracts to players who don’t pan out as worthy because of the lack of the kind of long-term commitment that can hamper a franchise.

Some one-year deals, however, are better than others. Sometimes, a team can turn a minimal payout into quality production (and maybe even flip a player at the trade deadline for a prospect). And sometimes, a team can waste a large chunk of money on a guy who doesn’t live up to his potential and loses whatever trade value he might have had.

The Nationals have signed plenty of free agents to one-year deals in their history. Which were the best? Which were the worst? (Note: We’re only talking about free agents who played somewhere else the previous season and signed major league contracts with the Nats. No players who re-signed, and no players who signed minor league contracts included for these purposes.)

Here’s one humble reporter’s take …

Whenever a discussion has come up this winter about the Nationals’ biggest needs, the focus understandably has been on several specific positions in the field: Third base, left field, first base, No. 5 starter.

There’s another position that hasn’t garnered much attention, though, and it probably should be a bigger part of the discussion: Designated hitter.

This, of course, wasn’t something the Nationals – or any other National League club – ever had to think about prior to 2022. When the DH officially was added to the NL last spring upon agreement of the league’s new collective bargaining agreement, Mike Rizzo quickly signed one of the most accomplished sluggers to ever hold that position in Nelson Cruz.

It didn’t exactly go as anyone hoped. Cruz never found any consistent success at the plate, and in the end looked very much like a 42-year-old whose best days had passed.

The Nats suffered as a result. Their DHs collectively finished with a .226 batting average, 13 homers, 78 RBIs, a .298 on-base percentage and a .620 OPS that ranked last in the NL. It’s not the only reason the offense struggled last season, but it was a big reason.

Can you believe a month has passed since the end of the Nationals' season? (Though, to be fair, it doesn't feel nearly as long as the last month of the Nats' season felt, am I right?)

Having stayed quiet throughout October as the baseball world was focused on the postseason, the Nationals now are getting to work on an offseason that could produce some dramatic changes to the organization on the ownership front while simultaneously producing very little change to a roster that still has plenty of needs. The moves so far (re-signing Sean Doolittle to a minor-league deal, declining Nelson Cruz's $16 million option) haven't come as much surprise. Perhaps there will be something unexpected as things progress.

Despite the lack of hard news, you surely have plenty of questions you'd like to ask. And I've got some time this morning to attempt to answer them to the best of my ability. As always, submit your questions in the comments section below, then check back for my replies throughout the morning ...

It’s no surprise a team that traded its top two power bats at the deadline finished the season as one of the worst power-hitting squads in the major leagues.

When the Nationals traded Juan Soto and Josh Bell to the Padres for six players, including five prospects, they were giving up the majority of the power produced by their lineup.

They did get Luke Voit in return, the lone veteran in the trade package coming back to Washington, to help supplant some of that power and fill Bell’s position at first base. But his nine home runs and 21 RBIs with the Nats were not enough to lift his new club from the bottom of the power barrel.

But he couldn’t have been expected to do it all by himself. Nor could he have been expected to do it when coupled with CJ Abrams, the speedy contact hitter who didn’t homer and posted a .327 slugging percentage in 159 at-bats for the Nationals.

A lack of power was already an issue for the Nats before Voit and Abrams arrived in Washington, even when they had Soto and Bell. And in this day and age of baseball when we’ve seen more homers hit than ever before (not to mention when Nats pitchers gave up the most home runs in the big leagues), that’s not a great recipe for success.

PLAYER REVIEW: NELSON CRUZ

Age on opening day 2023: 42

How acquired: Signed as free agent, March 2022

MLB service time: 15 years, 82 days

2022 salary: $12 million

We always knew the Nationals weren't going to be good this season. We just had no idea how bad it would get, not only in terms of their 55-107 record, but the fact they traded Juan Soto in early August in an attempt to completely revamp their farm system.

Sometimes, it's tougher to predict how a bad season will play out than a good one. That certainly was the case for me and my colleagues on the Nationals beat, who attempted way back on April 7 to guess how things would go this year and in most cases failed miserably.

There were a few spot-on predictions, but plenty more swings and misses, as you'll see below. As has been our tradition since we first made these predictions in 2010, we always come back to revisit them after the season ends, just to show everyone out there how misguided we were all along ...

WHICH NATIONALS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Bobby Blanco (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Jessica Camerato (MLB.com) - Juan Soto
Jesse Dougherty (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Andrew Golden (Washington Post) - Juan Soto
Craig Heist (106.7 The Fan) - Josh Bell, Nelson Cruz
Chelsea Janes (Washington Post) - Keibert Ruiz, Juan Soto
Pete Kerzel (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto
Bill Ladson (MLB.com honorary) - Juan Soto
Mark Zuckerman (MASNsports.com) - Juan Soto

NEW YORK – The Nationals limp into Game 162 of the season with a battered and bruised lineup that won’t include CJ Abrams, Victor Robles or Nelson Cruz.

Abrams and Robles both are sitting after departing games from Tuesday’s doubleheader with injuries. Abrams jammed his left shoulder trying to make a diving catch of a ball at shortstop. Robles felt his right calf tighten up as he ran out a double to deep left field.

Abrams got an MRI this morning, and though he was still waiting for results this afternoon, the rookie said he was feeling better and wasn’t overly concerned about any long-term issue. Robles said his calf still felt a little stiff, so manager Davey Martinez decided not to take a chance with either, even if it means he’s disappointed to write out a depleted lineup card for the final game of the season.

“Oh, absolutely,” he said. “Plus, some of our younger guys, I wanted to continue to see them play, especially the last game. But unfortunately, that’s sometimes how this game rolls. The good news is that they’re both going to be fine moving forward, and they’ll be ready for spring training.”

Also absent from the lineup again is Cruz, who hasn’t played since Sept. 13 due to a left eye infection that never fully healed to the point the 42-year-old was comfortable facing live pitching for fear of blurry vision.

The Nationals, Phillies and Major League Baseball had multiple meetings this morning to discuss the situation and forecast surrounding today’s series finale.

This game is important to the Phillies, who currently own a one-game lead over the Brewers for the final National League wild card. The Brewers are wrapping up a home series against the Marlins today before welcoming the Diamondbacks for three games. The Phillies head to Houston to play the Astros for three games after finishing here, whenever that is.

With rain forecasted all day, there was talk of possibly moving the start time of this game up to 12:30 p.m. and then 1:05 p.m. from the scheduled 1:35 p.m. start, hoping to find a window to play in before the weather gets worse.

There was a light rain at Nationals Park earlier this morning that they could have played through. But then steady rain and strong winds made conditions unplayable on South Capitol Street for a while.

The tarp is being rolled up and players are starting to loosen up in the outfield, so it looks like they are going to try to start on time. Davey Martinez did not speak with the media before the game as he was still in discussions with the Phillies and the league office.

Nelson Cruz last appeared in a game for the Nationals in the third inning of their Sept. 13 game against the Orioles. The 42-year-old designated hitter reached on catcher’s interference, then two innings later was pulled in favor of pinch-hitter Josh Palacios due to an infection in his left eye that left his vision blurry.

That was 18 days ago, and not much has changed since then with regards to Cruz’s status. His vision has improved enough to take batting practice and even field some grounders at first base. But it has not improved enough to make the Nationals comfortable sending him to the plate to face a pitcher in an actual game.

And now that the season is winding down, with the team’s home finale scheduled Sunday, there’s legitimate concern Cruz may be running out of time to make it back before the 2022 campaign ends.

“Yeah, I am worried,” manager Davey Martinez said this morning. “Yesterday, he said he felt a lot better. And then throughout the day, it reverted back. But earlier on, he said he felt great. I hope that within the next day or so, maybe he can get out there. Even if he can pinch-hit one game for us or something like that, it would be great. But we’re still hoping he can get back out there and finish on the field.”

It had already been a difficult season for Cruz before the eye infection became an issue. Signed at the start of spring training for $15 million, the veteran slugger was supposed to provide lineup protection for Juan Soto and Josh Bell, mentor young teammates and potentially be flipped at the trade deadline for a prospect or two.

ATLANTA - Lined with wooden lockers and topped by fluorescent bulbs, the visitor’s clubhouse at Truist Park isn’t the most well-lit room. It’s even darker from behind Nelson Cruz’s sunglasses.

The 42-year-old has donned the shades as he deals with a lefty eye infection that has kept him out of action since Sept. 13. But the specs could be coming off soon.

“He’s better,” said manager Davey Martinez. “The drops are working. It’s very slow but he said he feels better today.”

“It’s good news, so hopefully we can get him back here in a few days.”

Cruz took batting practice with the team before Monday’s series opener, another step towards a return that appears imminent.

As he makes his way back from the injured list, MacKenzie Gore’s biggest challenge doesn’t appear to be the health of his left arm but the sharpness of his pitches.

Gore made his second rehab start for Triple-A Rochester on Friday night, and though he emerged healthy, he did have some trouble keeping the ball over the plate: Only 32 of the lefty’s 57 pitches were strikes.

“When you’re out for a while, part of the rehab is getting yourself back in rhythm,” Nationals manager Davey Martinez said. “The first inning was very clean, they said. The second inning was clean; he walked a batter. And then the third inning is when it really became an issue.”

Indeed, Gore threw 25-of-40 pitches for strikes during his first two innings of work, then threw only 7-of-17 for strikes in the third before getting pulled.

“That could be just a little bit fatigued, not staying on his legs,” Martinez said. “That could easily be corrected by going out there and continuing to build up. But we’ll get him back here. He talked with (pitching coach Jim) Hickey about some of the things he wants to continue to work on in the bullpen, so he’ll come back and work on those things, and we’ll get him back out there.”

The Nationals received good news on two of their top pitching prospects this afternoon that involved both of them throwing a baseball in different ways.

After having been shut down for two weeks with right shoulder inflammation, Cade Cavalli was cleared to pick up a ball and resume throwing by team doctors and the medical staff.

His follow-up exam yesterday revealed that he was healthy enough to play a game of catch today at Nationals Park.

“Very good. He's actually playing catch as we speak,” manager Davey Martinez said of Cavalli’s follow-up exam and resumption of throwing. “It went really well. Inflammation’s gone. He said he feels great. Doctor evaluated him. Our medical staff put him through the gamut yesterday and today, so he's out there playing catch. So we'll see how he feels. This is great news for us. But with that being said, we still got quite a bit of ways (to go). But it's nice to see him out there throwing again.”

Cavalli was shut down after reporting unusual soreness in his right shoulder after his Aug. 26 major league debut. It was alarming news for the Nats after their top pitching prospect had finally earned the opportunity to debut in the bigs. At the time, the belief was that Cavalli would be done for the year out of extreme precaution and with only a month left in the season.

PHILADELPHIA – After coming up short in Friday night’s series opener, the Nationals try to rediscover their winning ways tonight at Citizens Bank Park. They’ll need a better start from Erick Fedde than they got from Patrick Corbin, who despite a ridiculously low pitch count still gave up five runs on 12 hits in 6 1/3 innings during a 5-3 loss to the Phillies.

Fedde is coming off a strong outing Sunday in New York, where he held the Mets to one run over six innings to beat them for the first time in 11 career head-to-head starts. The right-hander actually is facing the Phillies for the first time this season, an odd rotation scheduling quirk, and he’ll be going up against his old high school buddy Bryce Harper, who is merely 9-for-18 with five homers in his career against Fedde.

With left-hander Ranger Suárez starting for Philadelphia, Davey Martinez is going with a right-handed-heavy lineup. That includes Nelson Cruz batting cleanup again after hitting sixth on Thursday and then sitting Friday. It includes the suddenly potent Alex Call in the No. 5 spot, with César Hernández behind him and playing second base.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Where: Citizens Bank Park
Gametime: 6:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 81 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
CF Lane Thomas
RF Joey Meneses
1B Luke Voit
DH Nelson Cruz
LF Alex Call
2B César Hernández
3B Ildemaro Vargas
C Riley Adams
SS CJ Abrams

ST. LOUIS – When a familiar situation presented itself this afternoon at Busch Stadium, his team holding a late lead against the Cardinals, Davey Martinez opted to once again entrust that lead to Kyle Finnegan.

The only difference: This time, Finnegan got the ball for the bottom of the eighth, not the bottom of the ninth.

Actually, there was another difference: This time, Finnegan retired the side, then watched as his teammates blew the game wide open in the top of the ninth en route to a most impressive 11-6 victory for the Nationals less than 24 hours removed from a heart-wrenching loss in which Finnegan blew a four-run lead in the ninth.

There was no drama this time. (Well, the Cardinals did score two runs in the bottom of the ninth off Jake McGee and threaten to make this interesting before Carl Edwards Jr. cleaned up the mess.) Instead, there was a clean inning of setup work for Finnegan, and a whole lot of offense from the Nationals, who left town with heads held high after earning a four-game series split against the NL Central-leading Cardinals.

"I can't say enough about how these guys are playing," Martinez said. "I said these guys play hard for 27 outs. Today's the perfect example of them getting after it again, scoring a bunch of runs and playing good baseball."

ST LOUIS – The Nationals were one out away Wednesday night of victory, of securing at least a four-game split here at Busch Stadium and of clinching a winning road trip against two division leaders. And then … well, you know what happened in the bottom of the ninth.

They still have an opportunity today, however, to achieve all of the above and head home 4-3 against the Mets and Cardinals, which would be no small achievement. They’ll attempt to do so in an early matinee, with a 12:15 p.m. local first pitch on a bright, warm September afternoon here.

Josiah Gray gets the start, and he’ll need to be better than he was in New York, when he allowed six runs to the Mets. These final starts of Gray’s season are important. He really wants to finish on a high note and go into 2023 feeling good about his place near the top of the Nats rotation. To do that, he’s going to have to pitch well against some good lineups still on the schedule, including the Cardinals lineup he’ll face today.

The Nationals, who were completely shut down by left-hander Jordan Montgomery until the seventh inning Wednesday night, now go up against the wily old veteran right-hander, Adam Wainwright, who today pairs up with Yadier Molina for the 324th time as a major league battery, tying the all-time record. Notable switch to Davey Martinez’s lineup: Nelson Cruz has been bumped down to the No. 6 spot after struggling out of the cleanup position.

Update: The Nats have a late lineup change: Victor Robles was scratched with a stiff neck. Alex Call replaces him batting ninth and playing left field. Lane Thomas is now in center field.

ST LOUIS – The Nationals’ recent surge has been keyed in many ways by young (or, at least, inexperienced) players making a case to be part of the organization’s long-term plan.

The roster isn’t deep enough just yet, though, to be filled entirely with building blocks. There are still more than a few veterans in prominent roles as the season winds down, some of them rising to the occasion to help make this surge possible, others still searching for lost production.

So tonight’s 4-1 loss to the Cardinals, snapping a three-game losing streak, saw 35-year-old Paolo Espino allow three runs over five innings, 36-year-old Steve Cishek give up a seventh-inning homer to Nolan Gorman and 42-year-old Nelson Cruz go hitless out of the cleanup spot.

Such is life for a rebuilding club that hasn’t completely rebuilt the roster with up-and-comers just yet.

The Nationals were seeking their first four-game winning streak of the season, not to mention seven wins in nine games for the first time in 2022. They didn’t get there, falling to 48-88 overall and losing some of the uplifting vibes they had created in recent days with a fairly uneventful performance against the National League Central-leading Cardinals.

ST. LOUIS – The 2022 Nationals have not enjoyed a single four-game winning streak at any point. Nor have they won seven of nine games during any stretch this season. Imagine how encouraging it would be if they could cross both of those items off their list tonight, with those four consecutive wins all coming on the road against first-place opponents?

It’s there for the taking, if the Nats can beat the Cardinals for the second straight day. They’ll do so trying to keep the good offensive vibes going. After totaling a mere 15 runs over a seven-game stretch a week ago, they’ve scored a whopping 41 runs over their last seven games, producing double-digit hits each of the last five days.

Davey Martinez’s lineup has Nelson Cruz back from three days off with a sore right knee, and back in the cleanup spot he’s held most of the season. Given how well Keibert Ruiz and Luis García (batting fifth and sixth tonight) have looked recently, Cruz is facing some real pressure to deliver in front of them. He’s been better of late, but not as good as others in this current lineup.

Paolo Espino gets the start for the Nationals, and boy, would they like to get him his long-awaited first win of the season. They’ve managed to provide enough support to give their starter the win in five of the last seven games. Maybe it’s Espino’s turn at last to be rewarded for his efforts.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Where: Busch Stadium
Gametime: 7:45 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN2, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, MLB.com
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees, wind 6 mph in from left field

ST LOUIS – Nelson Cruz is out of the Nationals lineup for the third straight day, still plagued by a sore right knee but showing enough signs of improvement to suggest he’ll be ready to return Tuesday night.

Cruz fouled a ball off his knee in the third inning of Friday’s game against the Mets and was replaced two innings later. He sat out the remaining two games of that weekend series in New York, and now he’s out again for the opener of this four-game series against the Cardinals.

“We’re giving him another day today,” manager Davey Martinez said. “He says he feels a lot better. He’ll be available to pinch-hit today. Hopefully, he’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

Cruz has dealt with several minor ailments this season, but typically has returned after only one or two days off. This is only the second time the 42-year-old designated hitter has been out of the lineup three consecutive games.

Cruz’s absence has opened the door for Martinez to try some different looks with his lineup and defensive alignment. Luke Voit has assumed DH duties in his absence, with Joey Meneses shifting from right field to first base. Martinez has tried out multiple corner outfielders in recent days, and today he’s again going with rookie Josh Palacios in right field and veteran middle infielder César Hernández in left field.

NEW YORK – The Nationals made a roster move to their bullpen prior to today’s game against the Mets, recalling Andres Machado from Triple-A Rochester and placing Víctor Arano on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain that likely will end his season.

Arano last pitched Thursday against the Athletics and reported shoulder soreness afterward. An MRI revealed the shoulder strain, so the Nats decided not to wait any longer and placed him on the IL (retroactive to Sept. 2) now.

“We thought at this point, let’s just put him on the IL, try to get him healthy by the end of the year,” manager Davey Martinez said. “But he’s done well for us. We want to make sure he leaves this year healthy again so he can start his winter program.”

Martinez wouldn’t go quite so far as to declare Arano done for the season, but acknowledged he likely won’t have time to return to game action.

“He’s going to be shut down for a week or two, and then after that we’ll see if we can get him going, get him throwing,” the manager said. “The biggest thing is just to have him throw off the mound if he can before he leaves (for the offseason), so we know he’s OK.”