What can Nats expect from Zimmerman after difficult season?

As we transition into offseason mode here, we'll begin with reviews of each significant player on the Nationals roster. We begin today with Ryan Zimmerman, the once-reliable slugger who struggled through his worst major league season before finding his stroke just in time for the playoffs.

PLAYER REVIEW: RYAN ZIMMERMAN

Age on opening day 2017: 32

How acquired: First-round pick, 2005 draft

MLB service time: 11 years, 32 days

2016 salary: $14 million

Contract status: Signed for $14 million in 2017, $14 million in 2018, $18 million in 2019. Club holds $18 million option or $2 million buyout for 2020.

2016 stats: 115 G, 467 PA, 427 AB, 60 R, 93 H, 18 2B, 1 3B, 15 HR, 46 RBI, 4 SB, 1 CS, 29 BB, 104 SO, .218 AVG, .272 OBP, .370 SLG, .642 OPS, -1.1 WAR

Quotable: "I'm a pretty streaky hitter, I always have been. I've never really gotten to great starts, and come June, July, August, sometime around then, I would usually kick it into gear. This year, for some reason, it never really happened." - Zimmerman

2016 analysis: The biggest question facing Ryan Zimmerman entering the season was whether he'd be able to stay healthy enough to be in the lineup enough to post his usual offensives numbers. Health did prove to be a minor problem - he made two brief stints on the disabled list, once for a strained ribcage muscle, once for a bruised hand - but the bigger problem was his inability to post his usual offensive numbers when he was in the lineup.

Zimmerman wound up with career lows in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS. His walk rate went down to 6.2 percent (lowest since his one-month debut in 2005) and his strikeout rate went up to 22.3 percent (highest in his career).

The one reason the Nationals held out hope all along was the fact Zimmerman was consistently hitting the ball hard. His average exit velocity of 94.1 mph ranked seventh in the National League. He simply wasn't elevating the ball enough, and when he was, he was hitting them right at somebody.

The National League Division Series did offer a ray of hope. Zimmerman hit .353 (6-for-17) with two doubles in the series, somewhat rewarding Dusty Baker's longstanding faith in him.

2017 outlook: The question facing Zimmerman entering 2017 is a simple one: Was his poor production in 2016 truly the result of bad luck, or was the beginning of the end for the longest-tenured player in the organization?

Zimmerman is not going anywhere, not when he's guaranteed $48 million over the next three years. Keep in mind he also has full no-trade rights because he's been in the majors at least 10 years and with the same organization for at least the last five. So he's going to remain part of the plan.

The Nationals will have to figure out whether they can count on him to stay healthy and increase his production, or whether they need to consider a more viable alternative to him should they decide at some point he's no longer an everyday player.