June 23, 2012; Baltimore, MD, USA; Washington Nationals center fielder Rick Ankiel (24) doubles in the ninth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Nationals defeated the Orioles 3 – 1. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

Ankiel spent 2011 and 2012 as a member of the Nats as a backup outfielder. In 190 games those two seasons, he hit .236/.292/.377 with 14 home runs. In 25 games with the Astros this year, Ankiel had hit .194 with five home runs. Since the 33-year-old Ankiel was dropped by the MLB-worst Astros, some have speculated that his major league career has come to an end. If so, it will have been quite a ride. He started out as a pitcher, finishing second in the 2000 NL Rookie of the Year race with a 3.50 ERA in 175.0 IP, but had a 7.71 ERA the next season and converted to an outfielder. He hit .244/.306/.430 in seven seasons as an outfielder, best known for his unsurprisingly great arm in center.

Jun 12, 2012; Toronto, ON, Canada; Washington Nationals starting pitcher Chien-Ming Wang (40) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre. The Nationals beat the Blue Jays 4-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

Chien-Ming Wang will be starting for Chinese Taipei. Wang is currently a free-agent and said he will be waiting before signing a new contract. I’m sure that teams will be watching his start tonight, including his former team. If the Nationals were looking to sign Javier Vazquez, and already signed Chris Young, it’s possible that they may look for another starter to add some depth to the organization.

The other former National is Chris Snelling who was acquired from the Seattle Mariners in the Jose Vidro trade. Snelling played 24 games in the major leagues with Washington in 2007 and put up an impressive .367 on base percentage. He hasn’t played in the Major Leagues since 2008 when he was with the Philadelphia Phillies. His last season in affiliated minor league baseball was in 2009 in AAA with Indianapolis in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. Snelling, the 39th top prospect according to Baseball America before the 2003 season, he is still only 31 years old. It is not known whether he will be in the starting lineup for the Aussies. He played last year with the Sydney Blue Sox in the Australian Baseball League.

Javier Vazquez is out of WBC and will not pitch in MLB this year, according to @nasty_rodriguez, editor of El Nuevo Dia in Puerto Rico.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 27, 2013

James Wagner of the Washington Post confirms the report, adding that Vazquez is having right meniscus surgery.

Javier Vasquez pulls out of WBC for Puerto Rico & won’t pitch in majors this yr b/c of right meniscus surgery. Confirming @nasty_rodriguez.

— James Wagner (@JamesWagnerWP) February 27, 2013

That rules out a return for Vazquez to the Washington Nationals organization if it is true and means that the Nationals will have to make due with the pitching depth they currently have and possibly even less should Chris Young opt out of his contract in late March.

Vazquez was looking to return from a year off of baseball but after throwing for some teams this off-season, suffered a set back and seems to have chosen either another year off or retirement.