Jason Marquis is interested in helping the Nats

Even if Jason Marquis isn’t a great pitcher, he’s definitely a great pitchman. When the Mets had some interest in him he went all-in on his “I’m a New York guy” spiel. Now that the Mets’ interest has cooled, he has launched straight into “I can help the Nats” mode:

Marquis said he can be one person who can help Washington’s young pitching staff, which includes John Lannan and Garrett Mock. Marquis indicated that he can teach the young kids what he learned from veterans like Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Chris Carpenter and Matt Morris . . . “Learning from those veterans, learning how to win and recognizing situations, I felt I brought that to the table in Colorado and I really helped ... De La Rosa and Jimenez, who were trying to get over that hump,” said Marquis. “I feel I could bring that [kind of leadership] to a team.”

I’m dubious that his hanging around guys like Maddux, Glavine, Carpenter and Morris will help Washington’s young pitchers too much, because it’s really not all that apparent that it has helped Marquis. For all of his available mentors, he’s more or less the same pitcher he’s always been -- inconsistent -- and there aren’t a lot of examples of that kind of osmosis working with many guys. If it did, Horacio Ramirez would be better.

But Marquis would be a useful addition in Washington. Partially because what he brings -- a lot of average/occasionally above-average innings -- is something Washington could definitely use. And while the mentorship thing may not work the way Marquis suggests it does, having a guy who actually wants to pitch in Washington and wants to help the young pitchers would be a definite plus for the Nationals.