The Nationals’ search for a left-handed bat has landed on a familiar face from the National League East: Dominic Smith.

The Nats have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the former Mets first baseman and outfielder, guaranteeing him $2 million plus incentives, a source familiar with the terms confirmed.

Smith, 27, had been a member of the Mets since 2017, producing a .246/.308/.424 slash line with 46 homers, 179 RBIs and a .733 OPS over 447 total games. He was non-tendered in November, though, after a rough 2022 season that saw him bat only .194 with zero homers over 152 plate appearances.

USA Today was first to report the signing.

The Nationals had been searching for an affordable, left-handed bat to fill a much-needed hole in their lineup, and Smith certainly fits that bill. It remains to be seen where he’s used in the field, but he could either start in left field, at first base (bumping Joey Meneses to the outfield), serve as designated hitter or be the left-handed portion of a platoon at any of those positions, depending on what manager Davey Martinez needs on a given night.

After most teams closed down shop over the holidays, the Hot Stove League should re-commence this week, as teams try to address the remaining holes on their rosters in advance of spring training. (Which begins in only six weeks!)

Most of the top free agents already signed last month, but there is a swath of unsigned major leaguers still out there. And that could play to the Nationals’ advantage.

We knew the Nats weren’t going to be in on any prominent (i.e. expensive) free agents, but they have needed to make at least a few affordable additions this winter. And after addressing third base (Jeimer Candelario) and No. 5 starter (Trevor Williams), the clear top remaining need is in left field.

As we’ve mentioned before, the depth chart in left field currently begins with Alex Call and Stone Garrett. And with all due respect to those guys, it’s just not realistic to think the Nationals would open the season with those two and nobody else at the position.

So the time should be coming soon when Mike Rizzo strikes a deal with somebody more experienced. And there are a decent number of potential candidates out there.

In an alternate universe, Steve Cishek would’ve been a consistently effective setup man for the Nationals last season, effective enough to draw interest from other clubs over the summer and spend the rest of the year pitching for a contender while the Nats got a prospect or two in return.

It didn’t happen that way, of course. Cishek, while effective at times, was wildly inconsistent and never fully locked down the late-inning role the Nationals envisioned when they signed him for $1.75 million. There was no serious trade interest, so the right-hander stuck around through the end of what turned out to be his final big league season.

Cishek revealed over the weekend he’s retiring, telling The Bourne Enterprise in his hometown of Falmouth, Mass., he’s ready to call it a career after 13 major league seasons.

“It’s time,” Cishek told the paper. “It’s gotten harder for me to bounce back game-to-game. The ball wasn’t coming out as crisp as before, and it felt like I had to pitch differently. I know I’ll get the bug and want to get back out there, but I don’t think I’m pulling a Tom Brady.”

Cishek, 36, was one of the sport’s most consistent and durable relievers over a lengthy career spent pitching for eight different organizations. He finished with a strong 2.98 ERA and 1.200 WHIP, making 737 big league appearances, earning a save in 133 of them.

It’s New Year’s Day, and you won’t find anybody associated with the Nationals not named Meneses who was disappointed to see 2022 come to an end.

It was a miserable year, arguably the most miserable year in club history.

But like Mark McGwire once tried to do in front of a congressional panel, let’s not talk about the past anymore. Let’s look ahead to the future.

What does 2023 have in store for the Nats? Optimism, obviously, isn’t going to be sky-high, but there are plenty of reasons to believe it will at least be better than the just-completed year was.

Here are some reasonable outcomes various members of the team should be hoping to achieve in 2023 …

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2022. We conclude the series today with the story that has hovered over the franchise since April: The Lerner family’s interest in selling the club …

Upon announcing the long-awaited sale of the league-owned Nationals in May 2006, then-commissioner Bud Selig made it clear why the Lerner family was so appealing to him.

“The family model meant a lot to me,” Selig said way back then. “I’ve seen the family model work, and it works well. There’s continuity. There’s stability. If you look back in our history, the family model works well.”

For 16 years, there was every reason to believe Selig was right about that. Ted Lerner, who was 80 at the time of the purchase, was the Nationals’ managing principal owner until 2018, when his son Mark took over. Together, they celebrated Washington’s first World Series title in 95 years the following October.

And at some point in the future, Mark Lerner figured to hand the reins of the franchise to his sons, Jonathan and Jacob, continuing the family legacy for another generation.

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2022. We continue the series today with the franchise-altering trade of Juan Soto to the Padres …

The notion of dealing Juan Soto at the Aug. 2 trade deadline, while occasionally raised by outside forces looking to stir things up, was never taken seriously by anyone who closely followed the Nationals as late in the process as July 15.

Then came the morning of July 16, and with it a bombshell report from The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal. The headline said it all: “Juan Soto rejects $440 million offer; Nationals will entertain trade proposals.”

Thus was Soto’s world turned upside down for the next 17 days. The star slugger couldn’t go anywhere without being inundated with questions about his future. Did he really turn down that much money? How much would the Nats have to offer to get him to stay? Did he want to be traded? If so, where did he want to play? And if he was traded, would he then sign an extension with that club?

It made for an interminable 2 1/2 weeks, with the All-Star break smack in the thick of it all. And by the time the Aug. 2 trade deadline arrived, all Soto or anyone else really wanted was some resolution to the matter, whatever the outcome.

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2022. We continue the series today with the continued health struggles of Stephen Strasburg …

Stephen Strasburg and the Nationals were legitimately encouraged. No, the results weren’t what either was hoping for. But on an early-June evening in Miami, the results from Strasburg’s first major league start since the previous summer’s thoracic outlet surgery felt less important than the state of the right-hander’s arm.

And the right-hander honestly was satisfied in that regard.

“It felt good,” Strasburg said after giving up seven runs in 4 2/3 innings to the Marlins on June 9. “I’m excited to learn from it and get back out there for my next one. All in all, it’s a place to start and try to build off it.”

Little did Strasburg, the Nationals or anyone else realize that would be his one and only start of the season. Or that there would now be fear that was the final start of his roller-coaster career.

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2022. We continue the series today with the most unexpected development of the season: Joey Meneses …

The saddest day of the 2022 season in Washington happened to be the happiest day of Joey Meneses’ professional life. As Nationals fans lamented the trade of Juan Soto to San Diego, Meneses donned a big league uniform for the first time in a wandering career that most everyone in the sport had glossed over.

A 30-year-old rookie, Meneses had spent seven seasons in the Braves farm system, then one playing for the Phillies’ Triple-A affiliate, then part of one playing in Japan, then 1 1/2 seasons playing back home in Mexico, then one season playing for the Red Sox’s Triple-A club. The Nats signed him to a minor league deal last winter and gave him a chance to play every day at Triple-A Rochester, where he figured to spend the entire year.

But on that fateful day in August when Soto and Josh Bell were shipped off to San Diego for a host of prospects and the Nationals found themselves desperate to field a lineup for that night’s game against the Mets, it was Meneses who got the call. There he was, batting sixth and starting at first base, in a major league game at last.

“First of all, this is a dream come true,” Meneses said to a throng of reporters that left him looking like a deer caught in headlights. “It’s something that I dreamed about, obviously, growing up as a little kid. I’ve never gotten the opportunity, basically, and I want to thank the organization and everyone involved that gave me the opportunity to be up here. I’m very grateful.”

We’ve reached the final week of the year, so it’s time to look back at the Nationals’ most significant stories of 2022. We begin the series today with something taking place away from D.C.: The rebuilding of the organization’s farm system …

The Nationals knew a successful 2022 season was going to be less about what happened in the major leagues and more about what happened in the minor leagues. In the first full year of an organization-wide rebuild, progress was more likely to be found in places like Fredericksburg, Wilmington and West Palm Beach than in Washington.

And in some regards, that’s exactly what happened. While the big league club slogged its way through a 107-loss campaign, two of the franchise’s lower-level affiliates finished atop their respective divisions: Single-A Fredericksburg went 75-55 to win the Carolina League’s North division before falling in the playoffs, while the Rookie-level Florida Complex League Nats tied with the Mets atop the East division with a 33-22 record.

For years, general manager Mike Rizzo and his lieutenants downplayed the significance of won-loss records in the minors. This year, they were more apt to mention it, insisting team success on the farm does carry some weight.

“I think it’s important,” director of player development De Jon Watson said last month. “Because we’re trying to teach kids to play the game the right way, and teach them how to win.”

Hope everyone had a happy, healthy and safe holiday weekend. My thanks to Bobby Blanco for staying on top of all the Nationals news last week while I was on vacation with my family. Turns out the Nats made a fair bit of news during what often is a very slow time of the year.

Here are some thoughts on what transpired since we last spoke …

* Jeter Downs claimed from Red Sox
Two years ago, this would’ve registered high on the Richter scale. The Nationals acquiring one of the top infield prospects in baseball? That’s big news, right?

Well, maybe in December 2020 it would’ve been. Not nearly as much in December 2022.

That’s because Downs has seen a once-promising career flounder over the last two seasons. After putting up big numbers in Single-A and Double-A in 2019, Downs was perhaps the centerpiece return in Boston’s blockbuster trade of Mookie Betts to the Dodgers. But nothing went right for him with the Red Sox organization.

It's Christmas morning, and all who celebrate are rushing to see if their holiday wishes were placed under the tree.

For the Nationals, that could have been any number of things coming off a 107-loss year.

But like every major league team over the course of a 162-game season, the Nationals dealt with their fair share of injuries this year.

In fact, they placed 24 different players on the injured list for 25 different stints, with Stephen Strasburg landing on the 10-day IL at the start of the season while recovering from thoracic outlet syndrome, and then on the 60-day IL with a stress reaction in his ribs after his lone start in June.

Those 24 players combined to miss 1,778 games for the Nationals in 2022. So like many, the Nats may be wishing for better health in 2023.

Two years ago today, the Nationals made a surprise acquisition that created a busier Christmas Eve than we were expecting in the D.C. area. General manager Mike Rizzo was able to send two minor league pitchers to the Pirates for All-Star first baseman Josh Bell.

While the timing was surprising, the acquisition itself was not. The Nationals had made the first baseman a potential trade target for a while, with the expectation at the time being he would get a majority of the starts at first while Ryan Zimmerman would be the backup if he returned for his 17th campaign after sitting out the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

Rizzo won praise for the early Christmas present to Nats fans in acquiring a power bat to provide protection for Juan Soto and Trea Turner in the lineup with two years left of team control and without giving up any top prospects. At the time, the Nats’ most coveted prospects were Cade Cavalli, Jackson Rutledge, Carter Kieboom and Yasel Antuna.

Only Wil Crowe and Eddy Yean were required to bring Bell to Washington. At the time, Crowe was 26 years old and the Nats’ No. 4 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, and Yean was 19 and the club’s No. 6 prospect.

Crowe had made his major league debut that summer, posting an 11.88 ERA and 2.640 WHIP in 8 ⅓ innings over his three starts. A second-round pick in 2017 out of South Carolina, the right-hander was expected to compete as a rotation depth piece the following spring.

The Nationals’ latest waiver claim was noteworthy in that it was a well known name that was surprisingly available.

Jeter Downs, whom the Nats claimed on outright waivers from the Red Sox yesterday, is known for being a former top shortstop prospect and being included in two major trades since the Reds made him the No. 32 overall pick in the 2017 draft.

He was grouped with Homer Bailey and Josiah Gray – the latter now his Nationals teammate – in a Dec. 21, 2018 trade to the Dodgers for Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood. Then on Feb. 10, 2020, he was famously included in the package with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong that went to the Red Sox for Mookie Betts and David Price.

A central piece in two major trades and a highly rated prospect before turning 22 years old, Downs was, surprisingly, exposed to waivers when the Red Sox designated him for assignment last week after signing outfielder Masataka Yoshida. But of course, there’s a reason for that. His struggles in the Red Sox system and during his brief stint in the majors forced Boston to give up on the now 24-year-old.

Now, almost four years to the day since his trade to Los Angeles, Downs joins a Nationals organization where he is reunited with fellow former Dodgers prospects Gray and Keibert Ruiz. And he brings much-needed infield depth, whether he’s on the major league roster or in the minor league system.

Just three days before Christmas, general manager Mike Rizzo remains busy checking things off his list.

The Nationals announced this afternoon they have claimed infielder Jeter Downs on outright waivers from the Red Sox. Downs was designated for assignment last week when the Red Sox signed outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contract.

Downs, 24, was born in San Andrés, Colombia, where his father was a professional baseball player. He was named after Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, and ironically would go on to record his first major league hit and RBI then score the game-winning run against the Yankees and hit his first big league home run at Yankee Stadium this season.

He was a 2017 first-round pick (32nd overall) by the Reds out of Monsignor Edward Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Fla. He has since been traded twice, first with current Nationals starting pitcher Josiah Gray and Homer Bailey to the Dodgers in exchange for Kyle Farmer, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Wood and cash in December 2018. But Downs is probably most known for being a central piece in the package along with Alex Verdugo and Connor Wong to go to Boston in the Mookie Betts and David Price trade in February 2020.

Primarily a shortstop, Downs was considered a top prospect around the sport. He was the Red Sox’s No. 1 and No. 2 prospect in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and was ranked as high as the No. 44 prospect in baseball two years ago, per MLB Pipeline.

The Nationals’ offseason to date has been just as expected: quiet.

There hasn’t been a lot of activity on their front with the major league roster. More additions are on the way as we get closer to the start of spring training in February, likely in the form of minor league deals with invitations to major league camp. Just like last week’s minor league deal with Matt Adams.

But general manager Mike Rizzo hasn’t been completely dormant. He signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a one-year, $5 million contract and right-hander Trevor Williams to a two-year, $13 million deal within the last month.

Candelario is expected to be the starting third baseman, while also filling in some at first base and as the designated hitter. Williams has been told he’s been brought in to join the starting rotation after serving more as a swing man with the Mets this year.

Both guys, however, are also expected to take on a role that may be a little foreign to them: leader. And they both mentioned they discussed it with manager Davey Martinez during their introductory press conferences with the local media over Zoom last week.

The Nationals made a handful of roster moves yesterday, headlined by officially announcing re-signing right-hander Erasmo Ramirez to a one-year deal. To make room on the 40-man roster, right-hander they designated Gerardo Carrillo for assignment.

Also part of the news dump was the Nats announcing they agreed to terms on a one-year contract with Tanner Rainey, avoiding arbitration, and that Lucius Fox cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Rochester. The Nats designated Fox for assignment last week when they claimed right-hander A.J. Alexy off waivers from the Rangers. A lot of moving parts for a simple one-year signing. But you can’t blame general manager Mike Rizzo for getting as much work done as possible before the holidays.

While we shouldn’t expect more news the rest of the week (my famous last words while I’m covering for Mark Zuckerman through Christmas), we can look back on the changes made to the Nationals roster so far this offseason and what they mean in the big picture.

Carrillo was the second of the four players the Nationals received from the Dodgers in exchange for Max Scherzer and Trea Turner at the 2021 deadline to be designated for assignment this year. The Nats designated Donovan Casey for assignment in August when they claimed left-hander Jake McGee from the Brewers. Casey cleared waivers and was assigned to Triple-A Rochester two days later.

After a year that was limited to 21 appearances overall due to injuries and saw him post an 11.32 ERA in 10 games at Double-A Harrisburg, Carrillo is expected to take a similar route as Casey and Fox, going unclaimed on waivers and being re-assigned to one of the Nats’ minor league affiliates.

The Nationals didn’t have a lot of high-profile free agents set to depart the team this offseason, but they have retained one they valued a lot in 2022.

Erasmo Ramirez is returning to Washington on a one-year deal for 2023, the team announced this afternoon after reports the two sides were in agreement surfaced last week. Ramirez needed to pass a physical before it could become official.

The 32-year-old could earn up to $2 million with incentives this year, as confirmed by our own Mark Zuckerman.

Signed to a minor league deal in March and only earning a modest $700,000 this year, Ramirez filled a variety of roles for manager Davey Martinez. The right-hander was a bridge arm covering multiple innings between starters and the back end of the bullpen, he pitched high-leverage innings late in games during the season’s last couple of months and he even made two emergency starts against the Braves.

His 2.92 ERA, 1.077 WHIP and 4.36 strikeout-to-walk rate over 86 ⅓ innings earned him Pitcher of the Year honors, as voted on by Nationals media members. He was one of only three major league relievers with an ERA under 3.00 while pitching at least 75 innings, joining the Rangers’ Brock Burke and the Angels’ Jaime Barria.

Versatility has been the name of the Nationals’ roster building game ever since they started the organizational rebuilding process two summers ago. They value players who can play multiple positions.

Find jacks of all trades and have them fill a variety of roles.

That works pretty well for position players (infielders who can play all over and outfielders who can fill all three spots). But you might run into a master of none situation when it comes to pitching.

While the Nationals fared very well this season utilizing pitchers out of the bullpen in multiple ways, is there such a thing as too many swing men?

Get your mind out of the gutter. We’re talking baseball here.

The baseball world is like a circle. Sooner or later, you come back around to work with someone you know from your past.

The Nationals have taken this approach while filling roster holes: Bringing back bounce back candidates who used to play on the team or have a connection to someone already on the staff from a past gig.

Jeimer Candelario is the latest example, reuniting with manager Davey Martinez from their time with the Cubs after the third baseman signed a one-year, $5 million contract three weeks ago. Candelario spent parts of the 2016 and 2017 seasons with the Cubs while Martinez served as then-manager Joe Maddon’s bench coach.

Candelario relishes the opportunity to reunite with Martinez, now the head man in Washington who had a big impact on the 22-year-old infielder’s development on the North Side of Chicago.

“It means a lot, it means a lot, because in 2016, we were champs,” Candelario said last week during an introductory Zoom session with Nationals reporters. “I was not on the team, but I was in the (organization). And I came up that year. It was a special, special team. Really good coaching staff and he was part of it. He was a really good part of that team.”

Though this offseason hasn’t seen the Nationals make a lot of major waves, it has seen them make plenty of minor ones.

More than one-quarter of the slots on the organization’s 40-man roster have changed since the season ended, with 11 new additions to the mix. Some were promoted from within the farm system. Others were acquired either via free agency or from other clubs.

There are still more changes to come, perhaps one more within the next day or two once Erasmo Ramirez’s new one-year deal becomes official, requiring the removal of someone else from the roster.

But in the meantime, let’s review who is currently on the 40-man roster, and where the Nationals’ most significant needs still remain …

CATCHERS (3): Keibert Ruiz, Riley Adams, Israel Pineda
Comment: The Nats appear pretty much set here. Ruiz is the clear-cut No. 1 catcher. Adams and Pineda should compete with each other during spring training for the backup job, with the loser headed to Triple-A Rochester.