Not what they paid for

There was perhaps no more feel-good story in baseball last season than Dmitri Young’s tale of redemption.

Picked up by the Nationals in February 2007 following a year in which he was released by the Detroit Tigers, spent time in an alcohol rehabilitation facility, was arrested for assault, got divorced and spent four days in an intensive care unit after learning he had diabetes, Young enjoyed a storybook season in Washington that included an appearance in the All-Star Game and NL comeback player of the year honors.

Over the weekend, Young was in the District getting treatment on his ailing lower back while his teammates closed out a three-game series in St. Louis. He’s admittedly overweight and out of shape, has made only two plate appearances through the season’s first week and faces an uncertain future with this organization.

How quickly things can change in this game.

Just as no one could have predicted a year ago that Young would resurrect his career with the Nationals and become a valued clubhouse leader, it would have been hard to predict his status with the franchise right now: a highly paid backup to Nick Johnson who isn’t even available to play at the moment.

But maybe the Nationals should have.

Think back to July 29, the day the Nationals signed Young to a two-year, $10 million extension. Almost immediately, questions were asked about how Young would fit into the club’s future plans, especially if Johnson returned from his broken leg and reassumed his starting job at first base.

Team officials deflected the questions at the time, saying there was no way to know at that point when or whether Johnson would return to peak form. It was important to lock up Young, they said, as insurance. And besides, Young simply was too valuable to the club on and off the field to let him walk away.

All reasonable points, but this question was never answered: Why was it necessary to sign Young to a two-year extension in July, when he surely would have been available after the season? It’s not like general managers were bombarding Jim Bowden’s BlackBerry for Young, who was 33 at the time. The trade market was suspect at best.

So the Nationals wouldn’t have been risking much by waiting until November to make a decision on Young. By then, they would have had a better idea of Johnson’s status, perhaps sensing he was making significant progress in his recovery and had a good chance of returning to full strength by spring training.

And maybe at that point, the Nationals would have realized the smarter move was to re-sign Young to a one-year contract for less money, still keeping him as insurance in case Johnson faltered but not hamstringing themselves for the next two years with a contract that now is virtually unmovable.

What team would take on Young’s full contract now? Certainly no one in the NL because Young can’t play first base on a regular basis. And probably no one in the AL, either, because Young isn’t really good enough to serve as an everyday designated hitter anymore. DH has become a glamour position, one that demands 30-plus homers — something Young can’t provide.

Young has to accept some of the blame for helping put himself in this situation. He acknowledged he didn’t pick up a bat over the winter, and though he says he was focused on trying to get his diabetes under control, his diet and exercise regimens remain questionable. Anyone who doesn’t believe his current back problems aren’t somehow related to his poor conditioning needs to return to reality.

Had he reported to spring training in good shape, he might well have challenged Johnson at first base — or at least established himself as a top-notch pinch-hitting option off the bench. Instead, the Nationals are stuck with an injured backup first baseman who is guaranteed $10 million over the next two years.

Could Young get himself back into shape and still prove worthwhile to this franchise? Absolutely. It’s still possible.

But if he can’t, the Nationals’ decision to hand him $10 million in July could go down as the franchise’s worst financial decision since arriving in town three years ago.