Nationals sign Jason Marquis to two-year deal

Washington recently was said to be making a “strong push” for Jon Garland, but the Nationals apparently balked at his demand for a three-year contract and turned their attention to the equally veteran and similarly mediocre Jason Marquis, signing him to a reported two-year, $15 million contract. Marquis won 15 games and tossed 216 innings for Colorado last season, posting a solid 4.04 ERA despite calling Coors Field home. However, he had ERAs of 4.60 and 4.53 in two seasons with the Cubs prior to joining the Rockies and was disastrous for the Cardinals in 2006, posting a 6.02 ERA while leading the league in losses, homers allowed, and runs allowed. He’s a veteran of a decade in the majors with a 4.48 career ERA, and last season’s 115/80 K/BB ratio suggests that he was quite fortunate to post a 4.04 mark in Colorado. Marquis certainly isn’t without value and can be penciled in for 180-200 innings of league-average pitching, but I’m not really sure why a team coming off back-to-back 100-loss campaigns should be paying $7.5 million per season for a 31-year-old fourth starter. Of course, I also failed to grasp why the Nationals needed to spend $6 million on a backup catcher, albeit one headed to the Hall of Fame. General manager Mike Rizzo has seemingly made paying premium prices for veteran mediocrity a priority this offseason, which is an odd use of resources and playing time for a team that isn’t anywhere close to contending. Ninety-five losses or bust!