Do Nats have a spot in 2017 for pinch-hitting savvy Heisey?

As we transition into offseason mode here, we're reviewing each significant player on the Nationals roster. We continue today with Chris Heisey, who proved to be a productive, veteran bat off the bench this season.

PLAYER REVIEW: CHRIS HEISEY

Age on opening day 2017: 32

How acquired: Signed as free agent, December 2015

MLB service time: 6 years, 42 days

2016 salary: $1.25 million

Contract status: Free agent

2016 stats: 83 G, 155 PA, 139 AB, 18 R, 30 H, 3 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 17 RBI, 0 SB, 1 CS, 13 BB, 44 SO, .216 AVG, .290 OBP, .446 SLG, .736 OPS, 0.0 WAR

Quotable: "It's something I've done for six years now. It's kind of been my role ever since I got to the big leagues, hitting late in the game. Just kind of get off the bench, go up there and try to put together a good at-bat against a guy that's usually at the end of the game throwing pretty hard." - Chris Heisey

2016 analysis: When the Nationals signed Chris Heisey to a minor league contract in the dead of the offseason, it didn't garner major headlines. The journeyman looked like a longshot to make the roster out of spring training, perhaps squeaking in as the club's fifth outfielder.

Heisey, of course, did make the opening day roster. And he never relinquished that spot, becoming one of manager Dusty Baker's go-to guys off the bench. Baker, who managed Heisey in Cincinnati, liked his track record as a pinch-hitter and his versatility to play all three outfield positions.

In the end, Heisey was pretty much as-advertised. Though he didn't hit for a high average, many of the hits he did provide were quite meaningful. He launched nine homers in only 155 plate appearances (three of them coming in only 44 pinch-hit plate appearances). He hit a walk-off homer in the 16th inning against the Twins on April 24. And he hit a key, two-run homer in the seventh inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series, bringing the Nats to within a run of the Dodgers.

2017 outlook: Because he signed only a one-year deal last winter, and because he now has more than six years of big league service time, Heisey is set to become a free agent after the World Series. The Nationals, though, figure to show at least some interest in re-signing him.

Heisey's best chance to return in 2017 is if he's the club's best option for a right-handed backup outfielder. So his fate could be tied to a couple teammates from this season who face uncertain futures: Michael A. Taylor and Ben Revere. If the right-handed Taylor is retained and is on the roster, it might be harder for the Nats to bring Heisey back. If Revere is retained and given a chance to re-assume his starting spot in center field (with Trea Turner moving to the infield in that scenario), Heisey could serve as the top right-handed backup again.