The Nationals NRI All-Star Team

Watson's post yesterday, highlighting the addition of Dmitri Young and Tony Batista (but sadly not Randall Simon) to the Nats spring camp, got me thinking. In addition to the 40 guys on the official roster, the Nationals have extended Spring Training invitations to an additional 33 players. These 33 Non-Roster Invitees (NRI) are an intriguing mix of washed-up has beens, disappointing never weres, and anonymous career minor leaguers. But more than that, there's THIRTY THREE of them! That's more than enough to construct an active (25-man) roster. So that's what I did.

I tried to choose players with the slimmest chance of making the actual 40-man roster this season, but also guys who have had at least a nominal big league career. I also largely ignored their listed positions on the Nationals.com NRI roster. Any document that lists Da Meat Hook primarily as an outfielder has no credibility. I've kept the analysis to a minimum. Should morbid curiosity prompt you, more info on these folks is available from any number of sources, including here.

So, without further ado about nothing, I present to you the 2007 Washington Nationals NRI All-Stars!!!

STARTERS
C Danny Ardoin
1B Dmitri Young
2B Tony Womack
SS D’Angelo Jimenez
3B Tony Batista
LF Abraham Nunez
CF Darnell McDonald
RF George Lombard

BENCH
C Juan Brito
1B Travis Lee
IF Jose Macias
IF Joe Thurston
OF Wayne Lydon
UTIL Tony Blanco

ROTATION
SP Jason Simontacchi
SP Brandon Claussen
SP Colby Lewis
SP Chris Michalak
SP Anastacio Martinez

BULLPEN
RP Jesus Colome
RP Mike Bacsik
RP Winston Abreu
RP Josh Hall
RP Luis Martinez
RP Felix Diaz

Now, you can quibble with a few of these guys. Brandon Claussen will almost certainly get a shot in the rotation at some point, but he's rehabbing and there's no chance he'll break camp with the big club. Dimitri Young or Travis Lee will be the Opening Day 1B if Larry Broadway falls on his face, but why wish ill on one of the team's few semi-talented quasi-youngsters? One of the Macias/Womack/Batista/Jimenez quartet will probably assume a utility infielder spot, but I have a shiny nickel for anyone who can correctly predict who it will be.

More than anything, I just wanted to give you, loyal reader, a sneak preview of the eventual 2007 World Champion Columbus Clippers. Happy Spring Training!