Washington Nationals: Predicting the fate of 5 roster hopefuls

Miguel Montero

Shortly before Raudy Read was suspended for PED use, the Nats signed veteran backstop Miguel Montero to compete for a spot on the big-league roster.

Despite the fact that Montero is coming off of a nightmare 2017 campaign, he has a good chance of making the Opening Day roster. His only competition is Pedro Severino, who has not exactly lit it up either.

Although Montero has never been a member of the Nationals organization, he is quite familiar with the staff. Mike Rizzo signed him to his first professional contract with Arizona, and Dave Martinez coached him during their time with the Cubs.

Montero is not much of a threat at the plate, with his career-high batting average being .294 in 2009, but he is solid defensively. Martinez raves about his game-calling ability, and he is an above average defender in all catching metrics.

Unfortunately, Montero has not hit very well this spring. In eight games, he has hit .188 with a homer and three RBI. However, he has been hitting better lately and has been the victim of bad luck on hard-hit balls.

Because of his veteran status and familiarity with Martinez, Montero has a slight edge over Severino. However, if he does not perform, he will not last long in the bigs.