Ian Desmond on playing for the Nationals: "It's all a blessing"

One week remains in the Nationals season and it also could mark the end of veteran shortstop Ian Desmond's time with the organization he grew up with.

Desmond, the longest tenured Expos/Nationals player, becomes a free agent at the end of the 2015 season.

Although it may not have to come to an end if the club provides say a qualifying offer, Desmond looked back on his career so far and appreciated the opportunity he got in playing for the Nationals.

"It's all a blessing," Desmond told 106.7 The Fan's Craig Heist. "This is an opportunity that I think any little boy, any man would want. I get to play in the big leagues and get to do my dream job every day. There's been ups and downs. At some point going forward in my life, I am going to be able to use those and build on it.

"Every time I step on the field, I think I'm a better version of myself. Numbers or stats may not indicate that right now, but going forward in the future, this is all stuff I'm going to be able to look back on and realize and use."

This season did not start off well for Desmond and then he got hot at the plate after the All-Star break. He has since cooled off a bit, but continues to battle with each at-bat.

"It was certainly tough, but I made it through," Desmond said. "That's something that when it's all said and done, I'm going to look back and be proud of myself for. I think there's positives to be taken out of that for sure.

"Well it certainly is a humbling game for everybody. Perseverance and endurance through those struggles builds character. I'm a baseball player, that's what I do, but that's not who I am. I am believer and I am a husband and I'm a father. At some point down the road, this is all stuff that's going to make me a better man and hopefully better in all those other aspects in my life, too."

Desmond confirmed that there was a fair offer last offseason and that there has not been any substantive talks during the 2015 campaign about re-signing with the Nationals.

"Every offer is a fair," Desmond said. "I mean we're getting paid a lot of money to play the game that we love. Yeah, it was the offer that was made and at the time it wasn't the right deal for me and that's that.

"There's been no talks about that," Desmond said about a possible new deal to remain with the Nationals. "I don't know what will happen on that front. But right now, I'm just focused on finishing it out and putting my best foot forward every day.

"When I was a kid I never dreamed about fans or what particular jersey I was wearing. I just wanted to be a big leaguer. That still stays true. Obviously, I've spent a lot of time in this organization, but at the end of the day, I just want to have a jersey on my back."

What would it take for you to remain a Washington National?

"I don't know," Desmond told Heist. "That's something that we're going to have to figure out here in the future."

Desmond said he has appreciated the trust the Lerners have put in him to play baseball for the Nationals.

"From day one, they've believed in me," Desmond said. "And they've believed in my ability as a baseball player. They've trusted me. In return, I think I've taken the field every day and, as an employee of the Washington Nationals, I've done every single thing I could do to honor the contracts that I've gotten, honor their trust in me. I think there's something to be said for going to the post every day for your employer."

He also has built up life-long and dearly valued relationships with people he has met and worked with in the organization. He knows the talent that this club is capable of putting on the diamond, but also how difficult it is to win the most coveted prize in baseball.

"I've got relationships here that are way deeper than baseball," Desmond said. "I've got lifelong friends in the organization. I've got people that I consider family in this organization, and there's nothing more that I would like to do than bring a World Series championship to Washington, D.C., but the reality is that may not happen."

Desmond reflected on his time with the Nationals and said that predictions and hype don't mean much on paper. Every baseball team has to go out and find out who they are on the field of play.

"I think the biggest thing that needs to be realized throughout this whole process over the last 12 years is that expectations are what they are," Desmond said. "Your expectations aren't who you are. What you are at the end of the year is what the record says you are. No World Series title, no Cy Young, no MVP has ever been made in February or March.

"At the end of the year, you assess where you're at. If you won a World Series, you were the best team on the block. If you finish second, you were a second-place team. I think there's only one way to find that out and that's by playing it out."

Desmond said he hasn't let himself think about the future just yet.

"I come here ready to go to the post with the Washington Nationals," Desmond said. "I want to honor my contracts, I want to honor the loyalty. I feel like if I put my mind in other places, that would be detrimental to my goal, which is to go out there and perform for the team that is hiring me right now."

And if this is his last week with the Nationals, he had a message for the fans:

"Just keep on supporting your team," Desmond said. "This is an exciting organization. Come out and cheer them on and love them. Don't buy all the hype made in the media and come out and love them for who they are that day."

Hear this interview with Ian Desmond in its entirety Sunday on "Nats Insider" at noon on 106.7 The Fan.